Piracy
by Heliotrope-Housecat
Summary: Roy and Ed go on a mission to Xing via the ocean. After a tragic accident, Ed is lost at sea and presumed dead, until a group of Ishbalan pirates make an appearance. Rated T for language and violence. RoyxEd Parental Not Yaoi!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello world at large, and welcome to my FMA fan fic! Woooooo – fan fic! What's even more shocking is I have actually COMPLETED this one – it's rare that I have the stamina to finish a whole novel-length story! Usually, I get half way then can't be bothered. This time, I refused to post any until I had finished it. Phew!

Anyway, this fic contains Roy/Ed parental themes (yes parental – no yaoi here slashfans! It's all family/platonic love fluff) served with a large helping of delicious angst. Enjoy - TP

**Disclaimer: This goes for all the chapters in this work of fiction so I don't have to repeat myself later. I didn't create Fullmetal Alchemist and neither do I own the rights to it. They belong to Hiromu Arakawa-san and the good people at Square Enix. All I did was dabble in their genius for a while, for the sake of entertainment. If I owned FMA it probably wouldn't be half as good as it is now… hehehe, a short boy with a braid – who would have thought THAT would work! Smexy lil beast that he is… coughs Anyway, I don't own it, I make no profit from it and you don't sue me for plagiarism – everyone's happy!**

Also, the fic is not cannon as such, and takes elements of both the anime and manga, plus lots of creative license. My timeline follows the manga more closely than the anime though, simply because the manga does not have Ed disappearing off the face of Amestris for a couple of years to live in Germany. This gives us a bit more timeline to play around with, as Ed is actually around during this time and still searching for information on the stone. In my fic, assume Ed is 15 (nearly 16) and Roy is late 20s (we'll say 29 for arguments sake, but if anyone has actual figures for the age difference don't hesitate to let me know!) Oh yeah, and I'm from Britain, so all my spellings and grammar are the English version rather than the American alternative, thus words like 'colour' have a silent 'u' in them. List of random numbers indicate a break in the text... stupid internet editing...

**Chapter 1**

"So, why are you going on this mission to Xing again?" Edward Elric wore a slightly puzzled expression. He sat on a wooden chair in front of Roy's desk, leaning onto the table and resting his chin in his cupped left hand. "Just run it past me once more."

Roy sighed. The boy never listened to him properly when it came to military issues.

"I'm going because I'm one of the few State Alchemists among the higher ranked officials who isn't currently on another mission or involved in research," he explained. "I have to go and gather information from a local town on a science they call 'pharmacy'. It's basically alchemy for medical purposes, but the Fuhrer believes it may have use in the military, especially in the hospitals and for first aid on the battlefield."

"Right, I get you now," replied Ed, lifting his head and lowering his left arm. "So, why do I have to go with you?"

"Because I say so," said Roy. Ed frowned at him in annoyance.

"That's a stupid reason," he pointed out, lowering his gaze to the floor at the side. He was being rude, he knew. His rank was lower than that of the Colonel, and military protocol dictated that he should do whatever soldiers of a higher rank told him to without question, no matter how ridiculous the reason. However, this was the Colonel he was speaking with, and Ed felt the need to play up as much as possible around him.

"I'm taking you along because I heard a rumour that the people of Xing know some information on the Philosopher's Stone and I thought you might be interested. Apparently I was wrong," said Roy. He yawned nonchalantly. "I'll just tell your brother to get used to being a suit of armour… he's going to be stuck in it for a long while if you maintain that attitude."

"Hey wait! I'm sorry! I am interested," exclaimed Ed. "I'll go."

Roy smirked and leaned forward, resting his chin upon his clasped hands.

"Glad to hear it," he retorted.

123456789123456789123456789123456789

"Wow – Xing! That's so far away, Nii-san." Alphonse Elric sat on his bed in their room in the dorms. Still trapped as a soul within a suit of armour, the heavy metallic suit created a large indent in the mattress where he sat. He watched through brightly glowing eyes as Ed pulled spare clothing out of a draw and threw it into his suitcase. "I wish I could go to, but I'm not technically a part of the military."

"I don't think you'd want to go," replied Ed. "Spending all day with the Colonel... Remind me why I'm going again?"

"To research the Stone," said Al, gullible as always and missing Ed's sarcasm. Ed snorted with withheld laughter.

"Besides which, we'll be on a ship at sea. Sea means water. If you accidentally fell in, that would be the end for your blood seal. I'm a bit dubious about going on the sea myself as I can't swim, but it's the fastest and easiest way to get to Xing."

"Think of it as an adventure, Nii-san. It will be a new experience for you," said Al.

"Yes, I'm sure… erm… Al, have you seen my passport?" Ed was patting his pockets in search of the little paper book that would allow him legal access across the border.

"It's on the table," replied Al, gesturing with his right arm to Ed's bedside cabinet.

"Oh, thanks Al!" Ed took a moment to look at the horrid photo inside. It seemed to be compulsory that passport photos were embarrassing and showed you in a bad light. Ed's had been taken about 4 years ago, when he had first joined the military. He had changed a lot since then – his hair had grown longer and his face had thinned out as the baby fat melted away. He'd even grown a little bit taller. About the only thing that remained the same were his automail and his golden eyes. He closed the book and placed it on top of his clothes in the suitcase. "That's me about done," he exclaimed, stretching his arms into the air and grunting as he straightened his back out.

"I hope you haven't forgotten to pack anything," said Al.

"Nah – you know me. I always travel light," said Ed, lowering his arms. "Oh, by the way. While I'm gone, Lieutenant Hawkeye told me to tell you that she said if you feel lonely or would like something to do while I'm gone you can help her with her daily duties. I think what she really means is you're welcome to look after Black Hayate and stay with her if you like."

"That's wonderful, I hate being alone. It makes the nights seem so long," said Al. "I should thank her. Lieutenant Hawkeye's such a kind person, even if she does come off a bit strict and disciplinary. Shame Hayate is a dog though – would be much better if he was a cat."

Ed laughed. "You and cats! I better not come home to find a menagerie of them hidden inside that armour of yours…"

A/N: And that's the first chapter! Reviews are great and if criticism is in order please do so constructively – no flames please! If you don't like my story, don't read it! Any flames will be danced around and used to roast marshmallows.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Chapter 2 and it's a little longer than the last one. This time, I made an attempt at some subtle humour. I'm trying to keep the characters in-character as much as possible as well. Ed swears a lot… it's only going to get worse from here on as well, so if you have a problem with curse words I advise you to proceed with caution. Cover your ears children! - TP

**Chapter 2**

Ed had to get up early the next morning, so he and Mustang could catch the first train out of central. Their ship was docked in a small coastal town called Fal in the south, and was due to sail that evening. They had an eight hour train journey ahead of them before that.

Ed stood, yawning widely and scratching the back of his head on the station platform, waiting for the train to arrive. Roy was sitting on his suitcase, dozing. Al and Hawkeye were there also to see them off, Hawkeye apparently unaffected by the earliness of the morning and Al, not requiring sleep, looking just like he usually did. There was only one other person on the platform, a young female with brunette hair tied back in a messy ponytail, lugging a large suitcase and wearing a maroon hooded top with a university logo on it. She looked bored, leaning against a post reading a book and glancing over at them occasionally.

"Student, I'm guessing," mumbled Ed, nodding his head at her. The others grunted an acknowledgement. He yawned again as an engine sound, distant at first but gradually getting closer, reached their ears.

The train pulled into East City station and stopped with a sigh and a puff of steam. The girl checked her ticket and boarded the train a couple of cars further up from Ed and Roy, who had a compartment reserved in a private car near the drivers cabin. They climbed onto the train, closing the door and leaning out of the open window to say farewell to Al and the Lieutenant.

"Be careful, Nii-san," said Al. He passed Ed a paper bag containing some packed food items. Ed took it from him gratefully

"Thanks and I will," said Ed. "When am I ever anything but careful? Wait - don't answer that!"

Hawkeye nodded to the Colonel, who smiled back.

"We'll be back in about two weeks," he informed her. "Please make sure Havoc and the others don't slack off while I'm gone."

"I will sir," she said. "Have a good trip." She saluted them and Roy and Ed followed suit.

The train began pulling off as a whistle was blown. Al waved at them as they leant out the window. Ed returned the wave then retreated into the corridor.

"Come on then, Fullmetal. Let's go find our seats," said Roy. Ed just nodded and yawned again. It was going to be a long journey.

123456789123456789123456789123456789

As usual, Ed slept for much of the journey, leant against the window with his mouth open 'catching flies' as his mother would say. While awake, he watched the scenery fly by, or played cards with Roy who was as bad a cheater as he was. This caused much argumentation and falling out.

"You won again – how the hell?" Ed whinged after the tenth defeat in a row. "I had a full house!"

"Eh… just lucky I guess…" Roy shrugged, placing the cards on the table in front of him showing he had a royal straight flush.

"What's that up your sleeve?" Ed frowned suspiciously.

"Nothing…"

Ed leant over the table and grabbed Roy by the sleeve. He pulled a handful of high-ranking cards out from the folds in the fabric.

"You no good cheat!" he complained loudly. Roy smirked at him.

"You're one to talk," he replied, as a dozen playing cards spilled out of Ed's coat sleeve onto the table. The boy blushed and sat back down in his seat.

"I don't want to play with you any more, Colonel Bastard…" he growled, slouching and folding his arms like a small child throwing a tantrum.

He still shared the food Al had given him with the Colonel though, even if it was just to be sociable.

Eight hours later, the train finally pulled in at Fal station. They were met by a member of the Navy personnel in a green uniform, who took their luggage and showed them to a car parked outside.

"Welcome to Fal," said the naval recruit – a young man with a messy mop of mousy-brown hair and no insignia. "I am Cadet Brian Hempfield. You can call me Brian. I've been put in charge of looking after you for the duration of your trip, so if you need anything don't hesitate to ask. I'll answer any questions you have and I'll show you round the ship when you board." He put their cases in the boot of the car as they climbed into the back seats of the vehicle.

The car travelled around the narrow, winding streets to the docks, where many large vessels were floating. It was hard to imagine such large seaworthy hulks were being held in place by a few ropes. Ed couldn't help but stare – this was the first time he'd seen the sea, let alone a set of sea docks or giant ships. He gazed out of the window in wonder, eyes large and bright, childlike glee written on his face.

"What's the matter with you," said Roy, peering at him. "You look as if all your dreams suddenly came true."

"It's the first time I've seen the sea," he replied, grinning.

"Ah. The typical child to water reaction," said Roy mockingly. Ed glared briefly at him and went back to taking in the sights.

The car parked up on dock 6, where a medium sized naval ship was chained to the wooden and concrete walkway. The words 'HRH Chimera' were painted in bold black font on the hull.

"Hmm… ironic," muttered Roy, exiting the car. Ed literally bounced out of the car and ignoring all protocol ran to the end of the dock to get a closer look at the sea. He was watching the seagulls soaring overhead as if he'd never seen a bird before.

"Wow," he murmured, listening to the relaxing sound of the waves, the screaming of the gulls. Smelling the scent of salt and fish, gazing at the various sailing boats moored to buoys in the water. "It's beautiful!"

"Aye, the sea is beautiful from the shore, but sail further out and she can be a cruel mistress. Better get used to the ferocity of the sea, boy," called Brian. "You're gonna be on it for the next 5 days."

"How long till we sail?" asked Roy, ignoring Ed who was crouching down to get a better look at the water below.

"High tide is at 6pm, so we should be leaving around then. That gives us 3 hours until sailing," replied Brian. "Would you and your son like to board now, Colonel, or would you like to spend some time looking around Fal?"

"Son?" asked Mustang, puzzled. He glanced at Ed and began laughing. "You think… hahaha! No, he's not my son. He's my subordinate."

"Subordinate? But he's so little!" said Brian, a shocked look on his round face.

"I HEARD THAT!!!" yelled Ed angrily from the dock edge. He turned to glare at them, but they both ignored him. He sighed and returned to watching the sea, mumbling something about getting taller later.

"That, Brian, is Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. He just happens to be under my jurisdiction and I brought him along so he can conduct some research in Xing," explained Roy.

"Wow – so that's the famous Elric. I never imagined he'd be so young," said Brian.

"Yes, he surprised us all," murmured Roy, looking over at Ed with something close to pride. The boy certainly looked dramatic, gazing out at the distant ocean with the sea breeze ruffling his hair and blowing his red coat around like a cape. "There's nothing I want to see in Fal. Shall we board?"

"Certainly Colonel Mustang. I'll show you both to your quarters," said Brian. He got their suitcases back out of the car and carried them to the ramp leading onto the ship.

"Fullmetal!" called Roy, following Brian to the ramp. "We're getting on the ship now. There's plenty of time to watch the sea later!" Ed turned reluctantly away and wandered over to them.

123456789123456789123456789123456789

They were given separate quarters to the rest of the crew. A small, sparsely furnished magnolia room was provided, containing a set of bunk beds and a chest of drawers secured to the wall so it wouldn't move around in rough seas. There was a mirror bolted to the wall above the drawers, and a line of coat hooks on the wall next to the door.

"These are our guest quarters," explained Brian, placing their cases on the floor of the room. "But seeing as this is a military ship, we don't get many guests. Usually only high-ranking officials or people like yourselves, so you're welcome to use it." He left them to unpack.

"I call top bunk!" cried Ed, vaulting nimbly onto the upper bed.

"Calling top bunk – what a childish notion," Roy sighed. "I see you haven't grown at all from when I first met you."

_3… 2… 1…_

"WHO'RE YOU SAYING IS SO SHORT THAT CLIMBING INTO A TOP BUNK IS ALMOST AS GREAT A FEAT AS SCALING MOUNT EVEREST?!"

Roy laughed. Winding Ed up was one of his favourite pastimes. It was easy enough to do as well, for Ed had a short fuse befitting of his stature.

"Did I say all that?" he replied with a mock innocent look on his face.

"I hate you…" grumbled Ed, pouting.

"The feeling is mutual, my dear Fullmetal, I assure you," said Roy.

123456789123456789123456789123456789

Brian returned after ten minutes and showed them round the ship, telling them the locations of the kitchens, the captain's office and the quarters of the crew. They met a few other naval officers, all in identical green uniforms and all who seemed friendly and talkative, shaking Roy's hand and patting Ed on the head and exclaiming he was a 'cute little guy'. This pissed Ed off greatly, but apart from all the casual 'small' comments he found it hard not to like the crew of the Chimera.

At 6pm the captain announced over the loudspeaker that the ship was about to up anchor and sail. Many sailors went on deck to assist in raising the anchor and release the mooring ropes. Ed followed them on deck, running to the front of the ship so he could look out at the sea as the ship left port. He stood on the lower rungs of the white handrail surrounding the deck, leaning over in the manner of an excitable schoolboy. Roy watched in fascination at how the boy seemed to posses multiple personalities, from cute and curious child to angry gnome and emo prodigy, yet throughout it all he was just Ed, an intelligent teenager with blonde hair and gold eyes who had had more than his fair share of suffering and loneliness. He joined Ed at the ships helm and they watched together as the town of Fal disappeared into the distance.

A/N: And that's chapter 2 done! Ed's angry short comments are fun to write :)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Chapter 3 is a little shorter than the rest – but it makes you think.

**Chapter 3**

"No… Mom… Al… Don't do this…Please… I can't take it… Alphonse…"

Roy was woken in the early hours of the morning by the sounds of restless shuffling and frantic whimpering in the bunk above him. He rolled out of bed to find Edward moving around and talking in his sleep, obviously in the grips of some horrific nightmare. His brow had a light sheen of sweat and he looked terrified, frowning and grimacing and gripping the sheets tightly in his white-knuckled hands as if scared that if he let go all would be lost. It worried Roy to see him in this state.

"Alphonse… Al… Don't leave me… Don't… Gimmie back my brother… My family…"

"Fullmetal…" whispered Roy.

"No… Not like this… Not what I wanted…"

"Hey…" he shook the boy gently on the shoulder, hoping to wake him.

"No… Don't hate me Al… Don't…"

"Fullmetal…" he shook Ed again, slightly harder.

"I CAN'T…" Ed yelled out in is sleep, face screwed up in a mixture of fear and frustration.

"Jesus, he may be small but he could sleep through warfare!" muttered Roy, shaking Ed again. The use of the word 'small' seemed to act as a trigger.

"Who said I'm small!" exclaimed Ed, waking up suddenly and sitting up sharply in bed. He was breathing heavily as if he'd been running, and his whole body was shaking. "Huh… what?" he said confused. He looked over and saw the Colonel standing next to his bed.

"You were having a nightmare," explained Roy. "You were rolling about in bed and crying out for your mother and brother."

Ed paused before speaking, staring at nothing and regulating his breathing, orientating himself with his surroundings. He swallowed and wiped his forehead with the back of his left hand.

"I had that dream again… that dream which haunts me…" he replied. "Every once in a while I remember what I did in the past and it affects my sleep, especially at this time of year."

"Autumn?" asked Roy, confused. If he remembered rightly, the Elric brothers had committed their sin in early summer. That had been when he had gone to Risembool to find them at any rate.

"The 3rd of October, year 1911," said Ed, running his left hand through his hair. "That was the day we burned our house and left. There was no turning back after that…"

"I had no idea. I never realised you burnt your own house down." Roy felt sympathy for the boy. "Must have been hard, watching the place you've lived in your whole life go up in smoke."

"Yeah, well… it was the only way we could guarantee not returning before completing our quest," replied Ed simply, lying back down in his bed. "Sorry if I woke you." Roy grunted, shrugging off the apology.

"We all have bad dreams sometimes," he said as he climbed back into his own bunk, thinking of the times he dreamt of the war, the bloodshed, the tears.

"Night Colonel," mumbled Ed.

"Night," said the Colonel, curling up under his blanket in thought. The date was October 1st, almost exactly 4 years since Ed had left his hometown. He wondered if bringing him along to Xing at this time of year was a good idea. The boy may want to be with his brother for comfort. Ed had never said anything though, and it was too late to change plans now. There was so much he still didn't know about the boy. It took Roy some time to get back to sleep that night.

A/N: Mmmmmmm… delicious angst. Makes up part of your 5-a-day!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This is chapter 4. You get to see Mustang drunk. :)

**Chapter 4**

"Colonel Mustang, the Captain has asked that you help him with some paperwork. It's nothing difficult or major, just some signatures I think, and I'm sure someone of your status can easily finish off a simple job like that," said Brian. It was 10am in the morning, and Ed and Roy had just finished breakfast in the mess hall. Ed had noticed that there were no female officers on the ship and there was nobody else his own age. Not that this really bothered him, but it would be nice if he wasn't the youngest on board as it left him open to teasing.

"Fine, thanks for letting me know Brian," said Roy. He sighed within his head – paperwork was an office job. This was supposed to be a mission! Half the reason he'd agreed to go on this goose chase was to get away from the mounting pile of forms and filing growing on his desk. Roy hated doing paperwork almost as much as he hated the rain.

"What can I do?" asked Ed, obviously hoping for some exciting or adventurous job to do.

"You can help us clean the deck," smiled Brian.

"Huh?" frowned Ed, tilting his head slightly. "You want me to wash?"

"Of course. Swabbing the deck is a common job for a cabin boy!"

"C…C…CABIN BOY?!" stuttered Ed. "I have the equivalent status of a Major and you're telling me to swab the deck! You gotta be kidding me!"

"Fullmetal, do as the cadet tells you," said Roy.

"B..b..but.."

"No buts! You will go and clean that deck until it's so shiny I can see myself in it!"

Ed seethed with anger. He couldn't go against the Colonel's wishes, but he felt violated and patronised. Cabin boy indeed… He snorted and stormed out of the room with Brian.

"If it helps, us cadets do nothing but clean while the ship is at sea. It's a necessary and important job," explained Brian.

"Yeah whatever," Ed mumbled.

123456789123456789123456789123456789

"Ow… I ache all over," moaned Ed, sitting on his bunk rubbing his left shoulder. "Even my automail hurts!"

"You're just lazy," said Roy, grinning. The evil streak inside him enjoyed seeing Ed suffer while he got to relax. "It's good for boys to work hard once in a while."

"Lazy?! I scrubbed the whole deck and cleaned all the windows on the upper cabins! And what do you mean 'once in a while'? You're one to talk, Mr-I-Procrastinated-And-Never-Finished-That-Paperwork." Ed scowled. It was true that Roy had managed to get out of doing most of the paperwork by claiming he was feeling seasick. He was lying through his teeth, but the Captain had let him off anyway.

"I'm not lazy, I'm just gifted with excuses," he sighed.

A knock on the door announced that Brian had returned.

"Yes," called Roy and the door creaked open. Brian saluted and then grinned at them as he lowered his arm.

"Hey, Colonel Mustang, Edward, The Captain has asked if you would like to join us in the mess room to celebrate the start of the voyage. It's a tradition amongst us aboard the Chimera; we christen the voyage on the second night. There will be drink and we're willing to bend the law a little for young Edward," Brian offered.

"Yeah sure, I'll come," said Roy. "You coming Fullmetal?"

Ed yawned. "Nah, I'm tired. I think I'll just go to bed. Don't much like the taste of alcohol anyway, nasty stuff." He remembered the last time someone had given him beer – coincidently at a military holiday party. Havoc had brought him a couple of drinks. They had gone straight to his head and while it was fun at first, being drunk, he'd felt terrible and regretted it later. He vaguely remembered dancing with a lampshade on his head and trying to kiss Sheska. Ed was a lightweight when it came to intoxication.

"Suit yourself. I'll have an extra drink in your honour," said Roy, pulling on his jacket. "I'll see you later."

"Don't get too drunk, Colonel," said Ed. "The last think I want is to wake up in the early morning to find you using my suitcase as a toilet!"

"Sleep well Fullmetal," said Roy, waving as he closed the door. Ed glared his back as the door snapped shut behind him.

"Bastard." muttered Ed to himself.

123456789123456789123456789123456789

Roy stumbled into the quarters at about 1am, tired and woozy from the consumption of too much liquor.

_Woah, sailors sure know how to drink!_

Ed had been in the quarters for the last 3 hours or so. Still technically a minor, he had declined the offer of alcohol in favour of an early night. Now, he was lying on his back, left arm hanging limply down over the edge of the bunk and automail arm resting on his stomach, snoring softly and peacefully. In sleep, he looked totally innocent, child-like and carefree, cute even.

You would never guess one so young could be a human weapon.

Maybe it was the drink, but at that moment, Roy felt some weird emotion for the boy. It wasn't passion – that would be ridiculous. Roy was most definitely a ladies' man. But it was an affection of sorts, a parental bond. He felt the need to protect, to nurture, to love.

_But then, have I not always felt this way?_

Ever since that day he walked into the Rockbell residence to find a cripple and an empty suit of armour where there had once been two young boys, he had wanted to help and provide hope. While his major aim at the time was to recruit more alchemists, he found he wanted to protect them, from the world and from themselves. Ed might not be a model child – far from it in fact. He swore a lot, got himself involved in unnecessary skirmishes where he fought dirty and he never listened to his elders. He was prone to outbursts of rage when people made fun of him, usually all noise and no real violence, but which caused a great deal of troublesome attention. Then, of course, there was the unforgivable sin he and his brother had committed.

Despite all this and Ed repeatedly claiming he wasn't a kid anymore, he was still a child and a vulnerable child at that. Ed may be incredibly bright – some would go as far as to call him a child prodigy – but he remained wonderfully naïve to the inner workings of the military and he had yet to see the bloodshed of war first-hand.

Roy hoped he never would.

He watched the teenager sleep for a while, observing the soft rise and fall of his black-vested chest as he breathed. His long blonde hair was loose and splayed out on the pillow around his head like a halo. Roy noticed that the covers must have slipped in the night, for they lay bunched at the waist and hanging down over the edge of the bunk, leaving Ed's stomach exposed.

"Silly boy – you'll catch a cold if you have your stomach exposed like that!" whispered Roy. Almost tenderly, he reached over and pulled the covers back over Ed, who didn't even flinch. He also took a few seconds to remove a few strands of stray hair from the boy's face before realising what he was doing.

_What the hell?!_

He backed away, shaking his head against confusing and conflicting emotions. He was the boy's commander, his boss. Not his father.

_Stupid drink…_

He removed his jacket and his boots before collapsing onto his own bunk. He was out like a light within moments, the alcohol carrying him off into a deep and dreamless sleep.

A/N: Awwww… parental affection is so cute! Also, the brief mention of Ed's alcohol consumption earlier on in this chapter has been made into a Dojinshi, which can be viewed at my deviant art account if anyone is interested. My account name is T-Phoenix and the deviation number is 48074880.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Chapter 5 brings with it more cleaning duty for our favourite chibi! Bless him…

**Chapter 5**

"Hey – Colonel Bastard! Get up you lazy git!"

The colonel was rudely awoken by a pillow hitting his face. He mumbled pathetically 'just 5 minutes more mother' and rolled over, only to have a second pillow thrown at him. He opened his eyes to see Ed hanging upside-down over the bunk wearing a stern expression, golden hair swaying around his face like a lion's mane, awake first for once.

_Makes a change… and he calls me lazy!_

"Ok… I'm up," he groaned. He still felt very tired and his head was fuzzy from the slight hangover caused by last nights drinking.

"Good." Ed disappeared back into his own bunk. Roy rolled reluctantly out of bed and rubbed his eyes. He yawned widely. Looking over, he saw Ed sitting cross-legged on his bed, already wearing his trousers and attacking his hair with a comb, occasionally whispering 'ow' followed by a wince when the teeth got tangled in a knot. Roy scratched his head and looked around for his jacket, finding it thrown untidily on top of his boots. He yawned again and pulled the jacket on, leaving the buttons undone.

Ed was now braiding his hair. It was mesmerising to watch, how he deftly wove the three strands together into a thick plait, all the while unable to see and with hands behind his head. Bringing the completed braid over his left shoulder, he secured it with a piece of black elastic then flicked it back over. The shorter hairs of his bangs instantly fell out of the braid to hang around his face. Ed noticed the colonel was watching him with an odd expression.

"What you looking at?" he asked, frowning.

"Nothing," replied Roy. Ed raised one eyebrow. "Seriously, I wasn't looking at anything! I was just wondering why you wear your hair like a girl would."

Ed glared at him, seething inside. A ponytail would be marginally more manly and easier to manage. However, Ed had his own reasons for the braid, but he wasn't going to share that with the Colonel. Not yet, at any rate.

_Like I'd wanna look like that bastard who left us… With his ponytail and that horrid perfume with its stench that tainted my childhood memories. He let Mom die, he didn't care – I can never forgive him for that!_

"I have my own reasons," he said coldly, lowering his gaze.

Roy could tell he had hit a nerve somewhere. He had expected a similar response as he would get from calling Ed short, but the passive cold shoulder he received was somewhat unnerving. He shrugged it off and decided not to bring the topic up again.

"Never mind," he replied, sitting on his bed so he could pull his boots on. He checked the time on his pocket watch. "We should go get some breakfast."

Ed brightened up considerably at the mention of food.

"Great – I'm starving!" He leaped off the bed, landing cat-like on the floor. He shoved his feet in his boots while standing and danced out the door, grabbing his black over-shirt from the top of the drawers as he passed. "I'd kill for some bacon," he remarked happily.

123456789123456789123456789123456789

Like the previous day, Ed had got roped into cleaning again. He sat perched on the lower deck cleaning slime and mildew off the window panes and muttering to himself all the time. Roy had managed to procrastinate from doing the paperwork again, and had come out on deck to waste time watching the sea. He noticed Ed scrubbing away, his over-shirt tied round his waist by the arms leaving his automail on show through his vest. A slight sheen of sweat dotted his forehead and the bridge of his nose and there was a look of great distaste on his face as he scraped a handful of gooey green stuff out of the window frame.

"Oh yuck! Gross!" Roy heard him proclaim, as he shook his right hand off in a bucket of water. He spent a few seconds removing the ooze from the joints in his hand. Roy had a sudden urge to be mischievous. He walked silently over to Ed, creeping up behind him.

"You know, I don't think that beautiful young mechanic of yours would be very happy to see you using her creation in that way," he whispered in Ed's ear.

"GAH!" Ed jumped in shock and grabbed at his chest in surprise as his heart beat rose suddenly. Roy gave him a smug smirk. "Colonel you bastard, don't creep up on me like that!"

"So what is Winry to you anyway?" asked Roy, continuing to smirk.

"She's just an old friend. I've known her since I was a kid," replied Ed stiffly, returning to his cleaning.

"You like her don't you," continued Roy.

"What are you talking about? Of course I like her – it would be pretty dumb not to like someone who was your best friend," said Ed, scrubbing the window slightly harder than he needed to.

"Do you love her?" asked Roy, innocently. Ed stopped cleaning and turned to Roy.

"Why does everyone assume I fancy her? Can't a boy and a girl just be friends now? Is there a hidden law I don't know about saying I can't be just friends with my mechanic?"

"You gay or something?" said Roy.

"NO!!!" yelled Ed, "It would just be weird going out with Winry. It would be like dating my sister or something." Roy noticed Ed was blushing though. He guessed that while he would never date Winry, he did have feelings for her deeper than friendship. She was his family and he did love her, but it wasn't in a passionate sense.

It was much the same for him.

"Ed…"

"What?"

"Do… Do you want some help with that cleaning?"

Ed stared at him with a very confused expression, one eyebrow raised. The Colonel had just offered to help with cleaning. He had also addressed him by his nickname, which was very odd as usually he'd just be referred to as 'Fullmetal', 'Edward' or 'Shorty'.

"Are you feeling alright, Colonel?"

Roy shrugged and picked a sponge out of the bucket. He sat next to Ed and began working on the next window along. Ed just stared at him for a long time before returning to his scrubbing, shaking his head in amazement.

'_I always wanted a son,'_ thought Roy to himself.

"You know, if she was a bit older, I'd date Winry myself," he said nonchalantly, hoping to annoy Ed. It worked.

The wet sponge hit him square in the face.

"You're just a perv Colonel. You'd date anything of the opposite sex that moves," remarked Ed with a small smirk of victory as the Colonel wiped soap suds off his face.

123456789123456789123456789123456789

The alchemists finished cleaning the windows and staggered wearily back to their quarters. Ed sat on Roy's mattress as he couldn't be bothered to climb into his own bed yet just to sit down. He had dirt on his nose, which he hadn't noticed. Roy sat next to him and sighed.

"Believe that I'm not lazy now, Colonel bastard?" asked Ed, grinning maliciously as the Colonel rubbed at his aching shoulder. Roy glanced over at Ed with tired eyes but gave no vocal reply.

"I hate to admit this, but I had a good time with you today. It's weird to explain, but it was like we were friends or something. That and you weren't acting a total twat like you usually do," continued Ed. "I dunno, sometimes I wonder about you… One minute you're really nice to me, the next you're insulting me!"

"Fullmetal…" said Roy, interrupting.

"What?"

Roy licked his thumb and leant over. He scrubbed hard on Ed's nose.

"What the? Colonel!" complained Ed, squirming. The feeling of someone's wet thumb on your face is not a pleasant one at the best of times, but coming from a male superior officer it was just plain weird.

"You had dirt on your nose." Roy exclaimed, moving his hand away.

"So! It's just dirt – it wasn't hurting anyone," replied Ed angrily, wiping the mark with his hand to remove the disgusting damp feeling.

"Do you have no personal hygiene? What, do I have to be your mother now as well as your commanding officer?" Roy immediately regretted saying that as Ed instinctively clutched his right arm, a reminder of his past. He didn't say anything though, and there was a brief moment of uncomfortable silence. Surprisingly, Ed was the one to break it.

"Even Mom was never that gross as to lick her thumb! She used a flannel," he exclaimed, giving the Colonel a small smile.

"I'll remember that for future reference," laughed Roy, shaking his head.

A/N: Isolate yourself on a ship with someone and your relationship with them will develop at a rapid pace.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Warning – teenage depression ahead!

**Chapter 6**

Roy was woken later than usual by Brian who came in to check on them.

"Morning Colonel," he said in an overly-cheerful voice. "Sorry to wake you, but its 9am and everyone else is going down for breakfast."

"Muurgh…" groaned Roy, unintelligibly. He sat up and scratched the back of his head. "9am already?" he moaned as Brian left him to get changed. He noticed there was no noise or movement from the bunk above him.

"Ed? You died up there?" he asked jokingly. He stood up and looked into the bunk and was surprised to find it empty, the sheets folded neatly back. This was very un-Ed-like, as the teenager could usually sleep for Amestris, or else he would wake the Colonel up out of spite if he got up first. Something was wrong here.

_Where could he be?_

Roy pulled on his trousers and jacket, thinking. He sat down on his bed to pull his boots on, pulling socks out of his suitcase to wear. As he rifled about in the case, his military diary fell out and opened on the floor on the current week. Roy glanced down at it. The date today was October 3rd.

_Oh shit…_

Hurriedly, he pulled his boots onto his feet, glancing briefly in the mirror above the draws to smooth his bed-hair, and left the room at speed.

123456789123456789123456789123456789

He ran into a couple of naval recruits in the corridor, joking and laughing as they made their way down to the mess hall.

"Morning Colonel Mustang," said one of the recruits, a fairly young, short man with floppy white-blonde hair. He couldn't have been more than twenty. Roy vaguely remembered him from the drinking session the other night.

"Cadet Alex, right?" he asked.

"Yes Colonel – I'm surprised you remembered," said Alex with a smile. Roy instantly got the idea that Alex was possibly one of the youngest and least experienced on board and was pretty much ignored or forgotten by most of the crew. Having someone of a high rank remember his name would be a great boost to his ego. In fact, the only way Roy had remembered his name is because of the irony that such a meek individual shared the same name as Major Armstrong. Roy didn't have the time to worry about that now though.

"Alex, have you seen Major Elric at all this morning?"

"I haven't Colonel, but Thomas told me earlier that he saw Major Elric heading for the deck just after dawn," replied Alex.

"Thank you Alex, that's been a great help to me," said Roy gratefully, heading off in the direction of the exit. As he hurried away, he heard Alex telling his friend in disbelief that he couldn't believe the Flame Alchemist had remembered his name.

123456789123456789123456789123456789

Roy found Ed on the deck, where the boy stood watching the horizon. He was wearing his red coat over his vest and trousers and he was drooped over the handrail, his whole body language screaming depressed. He hadn't bothered braiding his hair yet, so it fell in cascades down his back, wisps blowing sideways in the sea breeze. Roy watched from a distance, unsure of whether to approach him or not. He watched as Ed lifted his right hand in front of him and appeared to be examining it closely, twisting it round to view the front, the back and then the front again. Suddenly, he balled it into a fist and punched down hard on the handrail, leaving a dent. Roy wasn't sure, but he swore the boy was shaking, either in anger or sadness. He couldn't just stand there any longer.

"Fullmetal…"

Ed stiffened and looked around sharply, obviously startled to find Roy standing behind him. He hadn't noticed anyone come outside and had been hoping no-one would bother to come and find him. How wrong he had been. He turned back to the sea.

"What do you want Colonel?" he asked tiredly.

"I came to see if you were alright," replied Roy, walking over to join him at the rail.

"Why do you care?"

"I care for all my subordinates and friends," said Roy simply. This statement seemed to surprise Ed.

"You consider me a friend?" he asked, confusion written on his young face. Now he was closer, Roy noticed that Ed looked tired and wan, his eyes pink rimmed from sleepiness and possibly tears shed before he had arrived. "Why would anyone want me as a friend? Everyone I care about dies or something unspeakable happens to them… I'm a terrible person," he said, staring determinedly at the ocean.

"I don't think you're a terrible person," said Roy. "I think you're a smart, funny, brilliant alchemist who has made a few mistakes in his life. Your loyalty is unwavering and your determination unrivalled. The only flaw I can see is that of height."

"Please, Colonel. Don't mock my height… I'm just not in the mood for it today…"

There was a moment of silence in which Ed just stared at the horizon and Roy observed him curiously. It was the first time Roy had seen him not go crazy when someone mentioned his height.

"Ed," he said. "Let's go get some breakfast."

"I'm not hungry."

"That's an order, Fullmetal," he said, grabbing Ed by the arm and pulling him away from the railing. "We are going to eat breakfast together, and then I am going to spend the rest of the day with you and prove you are not a terrible person."

"Colonel, I…"

"Breakfast - now!" stated the Colonel, pointing inside with his free hand and leading Ed back into the ship.

123456789123456789123456789123456789

Roy watched Ed push bacon miserably around his plate with his fork, not eating.

"You have to eat, Fullmetal," said Roy, who had just finished his dish of scrambled eggs and toast and was now drinking coffee from a chipped white mug.

"I already told you I'm not hungry."

Roy sighed. "Suit yourself," he stated, standing up to take his tray over to a stand on the side for collection. "Stay there for a minute, will you?" he added. Cadet Brian was hovering around the servery chatting with the cook and a couple of other cadets. Roy approached him and pulled him aside for a brief discussion.

"Cadet Brian, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked, pointing with his thumb to a slightly less populated portion of the mess hall.

"Sure, Colonel," said Brian, following Roy. "What was it you wanted to ask me?"

"Well, I was wondering if I could spend the day with my subordinate again. I know I have a lot of paperwork the Captain wants doing, but I'm seriously worried about Major Elric's current mental state so would be very grateful if I could be assigned the same duties as him for today." Roy kept his voice fairly low, glancing at Ed every so often. Brian also chanced a brief look at Ed, who was now sitting with his fork in his mouth, fiddling the prongs with his teeth and tongue to move the handle up and down in front of his face.

"I'm sure the Captain would be fine with that. He manages without officials help most of the time, so if you want cleaning duty again then it's all yours," replied Brian, shrugging. "It means less work for us either way."

"Thank you," said Roy gratefully, patting Brian on his left shoulder. He left his tray on the racks with the other dirty plates and cutlery and went to rejoin Ed.

"Well, Ed. It seems I've been assigned to cleaning duty with you again," he remarked brightly. Ed glanced at him from above the handle of his fork, which was still balanced expertly in his mouth. He removed the fork from his mouth and placed it on the plate in front of him.

"I'm not stupid – you requested that you be with me. I saw you talking to Brian," he said. "You don't have to follow me around all day, Colonel. I'll be alright."

"Ed, I can see you are depressed and angry at the world and I don't want you to be alone whilst you're feeling that way, especially not when you're so far away from home."

"What home?" he remarked. "I burnt my home." Roy sighed.

"I see home as being a metaphorical place where your family is, and where the people who care about you and who you care about are. It is not necessarily a house. For you, home would be with your brother and possibly also with those two lovely ladies in Risembool. Now, I'm guessing that usually when these 'depressive times' come round, you have been with them, or with your brother at least. You have not been alone. Now, however, you have only me, the one you call 'Colonel Bastard'," Roy said. "You may not like me much, but I know what its like to be depressed and alone and I refuse to leave you to wallow in teenage angst by yourself."

Ed stared at Roy for a while, an unreadable expression on his face. "You care that much?" he asked.

_I don't just care about you… I love you like you were my own…_

"Yes, Fullmetal, I care that much," Roy said, smiling at the gratitude he saw displayed on the youth's face.

123456789123456789123456789123456789

"Dammit – of all the jobs they could have given us to do… Ach! I got rust in my eye!" moaned Ed, his voice echoing. Being small enough, he had crawled into an air duct pipe to wipe the inside clean. Only his feet were visible from outside. Roy was cleaning the outside, chipping the rust off with a wire brush. "That scraping is deafening in here, Colonel Bastard," he yelled.

"Sorry," he replied, "I would have willingly gone in your place, but I don't fit into such a small space quite as well as you do."

"Hey!" yelled Ed, voice echoing in the metallic tube. This was followed by a large bang and a yelp as Ed managed to hit his head in the duct during his brief fit of rage. "Oww…"

"You alright in there?" enquired Roy. He was greeted with muffled laughter.

"Hehehe… I'm such a loser," giggled Ed. "I'm fine, just banged my head. Effing pipe…"

"Well, I'm about done out here, how about you?" asked the Colonel.

"Yeah… yeah, it's clean enough I think," said Ed. He wriggled about in the pipe a bit, paused, then shuffled about again. Then he paused again. "Colonel?"

"Yes Fullmetal." There was a long pause. Ed whispered something that Roy couldn't quite hear.

"What was that, I couldn't hear you?" he asked.

"I'm stuck," he yelled, sounding deeply embarrassed. "Can you help me out?"

"What's this?" mocked Roy, "The great Fullmetal is stuck in an air vent? And he's asking me for help… me… the Flame alchemist, master of fire. Obviously you have grown in the time I've known you, for the Edward I once knew would never get stuck in a place like that. His size would simply not allow it…"

"Stop mocking me, Colonel Bastard," Ed growled, "Get me out of here!"

"My pleasure," said Roy, grabbing Ed by the feet and pulling.

"Ok Colonel, I think I can get out by myself now… Colonel… Colonel wait… ACH!"

Ed fell out the pipe and landed on top of Roy in a heap on the deck. He started laughing again, rolling off his superior in a fit of giggles. Roy sat up and looked at him in confusion.

"What's so funny?" asked Roy, frowning and rubbing the back of his head.

"You are," smirked Ed. "I floored you good!"

"Floored me? You were stuck in that pipe you idiot! If it wasn't for me you'd still be in there," said Roy. Ed continued to laugh. "You dare laugh at me? I'll show you…" growled Roy. He leaned over and tickled the offending youth in the sides.

"No… NO! STOP!" laughed Ed, squirming and unable to breathe. "Don't tickle me… no more… I'm sorry I laughed at you, Colonel!"

"Apology accepted," said Roy, standing up and offering a hand down to help Ed onto his feet. "It's good to see you feeling better, anyway."

"Yeah, thanks for staying with me today Colonel," Ed grinned. He looked at his pocket watch, checking the time. "We should go to dinner… it's almost 6.30," he remarked. Roy looked up at a sky that was rapidly turning pink with the sunset. There were an unusually large amount of huge cumulonimbus clouds in the distance, darkening the horizon.

"I don't like the look of those clouds…" he remarked.

"Yeah, they bring rain and you're useless in water, huh Colonel," said Ed, jokingly. Roy cuffed him lightly and good naturedly around the back of the head.

"I'm not useless!" he stated as Ed rubbed the spot where Roy had just hit him. "I'm just a bit handicapped, that's all. Anyway, like you said, its time for dinner, so lets go before the naval recruits eat all the good stuff."

A/N: The clouds are important! And I think Ed may be slightly bi-polar… look how fast he recovered from that low!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I got inspired to write something to do with the sea whilst watching 'The Guardian' at the cinema. All the action scenes and the people in the water really got me thinking. There is an implied character death in this chapter. Bring tissues fan-girls!

**Chapter 7**

"Sea seems a bit turbulent tonight," commented Ed, with a slightly worried expression. They had been in their quarters since after dinner, so had no idea of what was happening elsewhere on the ship, and their cabin had no windows. Ed was sitting on his bunk, legs swinging down, holding onto the edge of his bed with his hands. He had removed his over-shirt and was just wearing his tank top. He also wore his long hair loose. Roy stood next to him in a pair of casual slacks and a military blue t-shirt, holding onto the bunk edges for balance. A large jolting shift to the left accompanied by the sound of screaming metal almost sent him flying, but he quickly regained his composure.

"What the hell was that?" he said, looking up at Ed with a worried frown.

They could now hear yells from the naval staff, people running back and forth in the corridors. 'It's broken – the hull is breached – we need to fix the hull!' People were panicking, grabbing lifejackets. 'Mayday, Mayday – hull is breached – prepare ship for evacuation!'

"Hull breached?" queried Ed. "That should be repairable with alchemy, right?"

"I suppose," said Roy. "But you'd need a complicated array for something that large."

"Idiot," snorted Ed. "I don't need arrays, remember." He mimed clapping, but stopped when another wave caused the ship to lurch and he grabbed the bed again. The lights flickered, went out and flared back on again. "Come on," he said, leaping off his bunk and running outside.

"Edward, wait!" yelled Roy, following him.

They ran out on deck, where they met absolute chaos. The clouds Roy had commented about earlier were in fact storm clouds, and had brought forth the wrath of nature, steering the ship off course and into some rocks. These had breached the hull and the ship was rapidly filling with water and would sink if nothing was done. The rain was torrential, and huge waves buffeted the ship, washing over the deck, sweeping men off their feet. Roy glanced at Ed, who was looking around in trepidation, his clothing already soaked and clinging to his slight frame.

"Colonel Mustang!" Someone yelled, running towards them. Roy turned to see Brian, slipping on the wet deck. "We're preparing to evacuate the ship. If you and Major Elric would follow me to the lifeboats…"

"There's no need to evacuate yet," said Ed, calmly. "Where is the hull breached, can you take me to it?"

"Sir, we can't access the hull from the inside, its too dangerous…"

"I asked where it was breached," repeated Ed, his voice clipped.

"Front starboard. It could be accessible from the maintenance steps, but it's far too dangerous in this storm… Sir!" Ed had ignored him and ran to the steps at the front right of the ship, slipping momentarily on the sodden deck. People yelled at him to stop, including Roy who raced after him.

Roy managed to catch up with him before he leaped over the handrail, grabbing him by the arm.

"Ed, don't do this. It's too dangerous!" he yelled over the roaring wind. A sudden wave washed over the deck, sweeping them both off their feet. Roy grabbed hold of a rope lifeline to prevent himself sliding any further across the deck, while Ed gripped the handrail.

"I can do this Colonel," he said. "Trust me."

"Ed…"

"Trust me," he repeated, looking the Colonel direct in the eyes. Roy nodded, and the boy swung over the railing and onto the rusted steps, clambering down into the unknown.

123456789123456789123456789123456789

Freezing sea spray stung his face and bare skin as he clung to the side of the ship. He could see the jagged hole in the hull now, slowly scooping in water as the ship swayed unsteadily from side to side. A wave crashed against him and he clung to the ladder, holding his breath as the water washed over him. The wave drained away and Ed observed the hole closely. It was large, but not too deep. He could utilise metal in the ships thick hull to form a temporary patch. It would last enough to get back to port at any rate. A second wave buffeted him, knocking the air out of his lungs as he clung to the ladder. After it dispersed, he wrapped his elbows around the ladder rungs, clapped and placed his hands against the hull, gripping the ladder tightly with his knees.

Blue sparks surrounded the hole as metallic particles were pulled from the hull and spread over the gaping breach. Ed held his hands against the hull, gritting his teeth and clinging on tightly as the ship listed back and forth.

_Please work… please work…_

A third wave hit him and he grasped the rungs tightly with his legs and elbows, not taking his hands off the hull until the transmutation was complete. As the water fell, Ed saw that the hole was patched fully and he could return to the deck. He could hear yells of jubilation from above him as he clambered back up the rungs.

'The boy did it – he patched up the hull! Abort evacuation! Oh no – the upper deck window has blown in! Big wave big wave – brace yourselves boys!'

He reached the handrail, the ships deck now fully in view. People were still running about frantically, but at least the ship wasn't going to sink now. A sudden large and unexpected wave hit the left hand side of the ship causing it to list heavily to the side, and Ed found he was briefly hanging from the ladder at almost right angles. His feet slipped on the wet rungs and he was left dangling from the hand rail by just his hands.

_Woah!_

He scrabbled desperately with his feet, finding the rung again. However, the top rung was weak and rusted through, and with his frantic scrabbling it snapped, falling away into the darkness below. Ed panicked slightly, kicking against the slippery metallic hull, unable to find leverage on the shiny surface. There were no other ladder rungs that he could reach.

_Damn my height!_

"Shit! Help!" he called. He saw the Colonel holding onto a rope lifeline near him. "Colonel!" he cried, flailing. "COLONEL!"

The Colonel was watching him, and made to help him, but a sudden wave washed over the deck, knocking people off their feet, Roy Mustang among them. The Colonel was too busy grabbing his own lifeline and steadying himself to pay any attention to Ed. The wave crashed into Ed and he fought to maintain grip on the wet rail.

_Damn it!_

"COLONEL! COLONEL!" He yelled, voice cracking from the exertion. "HELP ME!" He could feel his fingers slipping. The Colonel was attempting to get up, but another wave of water knocked him back. However, he had noticed Ed's peril, and was shouting his name. Their eyes met just as his left hand slid from the rail, fingers numbed by the cold. He screamed, clinging on by just his automail hand.

Unlike a real hand, automail has no padded fingertips or fleshy palm to help with grip. He could already feel the metallic fingers sliding from the rail. "COLONEL!" he ravaged his voicebox screaming out for help. The ship listed to the right again, leaving him dangling over open sea. As he felt his fingers slip the last few centimetres he cried out the name of the Colonel, something he had never done before.

"ROY!"

The automail slipped from the rail and he fell into the raging waters below.

"EDWARD!" yelled Roy, regaining his footing at last. "ED!"

He ran to the side of the ship, looking down at the swirling water. There was no sign of the boy anywhere. "EDWARD! EDWARD!" He cried out repeatedly. He made to jump into the water, but a naval officer ran forwards and grabbed him.

"Sir! It's too dangerous sir!" yelled the officer, holding him back from the rail.

"But Edward's out there! I must help him!" whimpered Mustang, clawing at the rail.

"Sir, he's gone! People need your assistance here – we need an alchemist!"

Roy stopped his struggling. The officer was right. His need was greater on the ship than searching for a teenager in the sea. He could feel tears falling from his eyes, but he knew nobody would be able to see them for his face was sodden with saltwater spray. He nodded at the officer, succumbing to his fate. He was, and always would be, a dog of the military.

"Take me where I am needed," he said monotonously.

123456789123456789123456789123456789

Ed fell for what seemed like an eternity into water as cold as ice and as hard as concrete. He screamed the name of the Colonel all the way down, plunging back first into the ocean, struggling against a wild maelstrom of bubbles and murky water. As he flailed around in the freezing water, a horrifying thought occurred to him.

_He couldn't swim!_

Desperately, he tried to tread water as the current took him further away from the ship. His wet clothes weighed him down and his automail felt like a lead weight, pulling him under. He reached the surface a couple of times, each time yelling for help, crying out for the Colonel, but it was in vain. Nobody could hear him.

The waves crashed over him, against him, dragging him under, claiming him as their own. He panicked in the dark water, bubbles exploding around him as he screamed out the last of his air, unable to stay above the surface.

Eventually he lost consciousness and succumbed to the darkness.

A/N: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ED!!! I'll save you! heroic swan-dive into the water Ah crap! I forgot – I can't swim very well in water if it has a strong current! NOOOOOOOO – save me somebody! (Wave machines are fun for most people – but for me I almost drown whenever they turn them on… mrrr…)


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Arrr… enter the pirates! Everyone loves pirates! 

**Chapter 8**

Ishbalans were not well known for piracy. Indeed, radical groups had only turned to it as a last resort after the Amestris military ravaged their country, their people and their lives. Now a few ragged bands of Ishbalan refugees had taken to a life at sea, where there are no laws against religion or land ownership. There was only the saltwater, the ocean breeze, and the chance of Amestris ships to plunder.

This band of pirates was a particularly rough one, quite rich from its activities and often coming to land to partake in the odd terrorist activity for the sake of Ishbal. They were skilled sailors, thieves and fighters, afraid of nothing, and they came to this area during the rough seas after hearing of an Amestris Naval ship in trouble during the storm.

If the naval vessel survived, they would plunder it. If not, they would pick any wreckage of value from the ocean. Either way, it was win-win for the Ishbalans.

"WHOOOOEEEHAAAAAAAARRRR!!!!!" cried out one of the pirates in glee, swinging on the rigging as the ship swayed violently in the stormy seas. He was hanging over the edge of the hull, tied to the rigging by a length of rope and his job was to pluck wreckage from the waves as they passed. Sea spray hit him, stinging him like thousands of bees, but it was a sensation he loved, his long black hair swaying out behind him in the gale. He had a black tattoo of an Ishbalan religious symbol on his upper left arm.

"Found anything good yet?" called another pirate from above, leaning over the side with a manical grin. He was missing one of his front teeth and while his appearance was rather weedy and weak, he was the captain of the ship. Other pirates ran about the deck, controlling the little ship as it cut its way masterly through the stormy waters.

"Nothing yet, but I have a good feeling about this one!"

The pirate hanging onto the rigging scoured the ocean for anything of value, waves splashing up from the storm and soaking him. There was nothing yet… an empty crate, some rope… but then… something shiny glinted and caught his eye

He reached into the sea and grabbed something large, silver and metallic.

Lifting, he found he had grabbed a small teenage boy by what appeared to be an automail leg. Upon leaving the water, the boy began coughing but remained unconscious. He obviously hadn't been in the water too long, for he was still alive despite the fact he had been unconscious and underwater.

"Hey guys! I got a live one!" he yelled up.

"Wooo! Pass him up here then!" replied the toothless pirate, reaching down.

The rigging pirate held the unconscious boy up by his leg so the other pirate could haul him onboard. They dropped him roughly on the deck, where he violently coughed up a lungful of water and began shivering, but didn't regain consciousness.

"Looks in a bad shape, don't he?" commented the toothless pirate as the rigging pirate clambered like a monkey back onto the boat and joined him. "Look here – an automail arm too," he said, lightly kicking the boy on his right arm. "He's certainly been through the wars has this one!"

"Recon he's the son of someone in the navy?"

"How should I know? Lets see if he has anything of value on him then decide what we're gonna do with him. We could do with a new cabin boy, but I dunno if an Amestrian would be any good. I hear they're lazy, spoilt little bastards."

The pirates searched the boy's pockets but only found one thing that interested them - a silver pocket watch on a fine chain.

"A pocket watch?" the rigging pirate said, confused. "Why would a boy have one of those?"

The other pirate examined the watch further. There was the Amestris military crest on the front, the rampant lion within an intricate six-sided star shape - the sign of the State Alchemist.

"This 'lil guy is a sin against Ishbala," replied the toothless pirate. "Look, this is a State Alchemist watch."

"What – this boy's too young for military service surely? And an alchemist – that's far too complex for a child to understand to that degree!"

"Where have you been while we've been on the mainland?" exclaimed toothless. "The automail? The age? The military status? This is the Fullmetal Alchemist!"

"What?! What the hell is he doing out here?"

"I dunno that! But what I do know is we now have some leverage against the military." Toothless grinned evilly. "It's time we returned to the mainland with our prize. There will be no further plundering tonight. Take the boy and lock him up somewhere – and make sure he can't use his hands, I've heard rumours about him and I don't want to find them true!"

"Yes sir!"

The rigging pirate grabbed Ed round the waist and flung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, holding him firmly round the legs so his arms and head hung down the pirate's back.

"Man – the little guy sure is light!" he commented lightly. Surprisingly, he got a subconscious mumbled response from Ed.

"… Who're you calling so little he weighs less than a single grain of rice…"

"Weird…" mused the pirate. He carried Ed below deck while toothless addressed the other crew members.

"Gentlemen," the captain called, "Set sail for Amestris! We got ourselves a great haul tonight!"

The announcement was met with cheers and whoops of excitement as the ship turned in the ocean and returned to land.

A/N: I like pirates! The pirate ship is actually steam powered, so lacks a mast and doesn't look very piratey. It still has rigging though (there's that creative licence again). The hull and the main machinery are all made from iron, but the rest is wooden. The modernity allows it to circumnavigate storms easier and it's less susceptible to damage. Also, this is Amestris, where cars look like hearses, are covered in piping and sound like they're hovering, so a steam powered ship made primarily of wood doesn't seem quite so far fetched.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Poor Roy… useless in the rain… I just wanna hug him!

**Chapter 9**

Roy was in a state of shock. He sat in the officer's cabin staring at the whitewashed walls with a blank look on his face. The storm outside had subdued to a mild drizzle, reflecting his mood. The ship had now turned round and was returning to Fal, its journey to Xing aborted due to damages and a continuation of the storm to the north.

By fixing the ship's hull, Ed had saved them all, but in doing so had sacrificed himself. Now he was missing presumed dead, one of four soldiers who fell overboard that night. They had pulled one from the sea earlier, a shivering naval recruit who had survived by holding desperately onto an empty crate washed overboard by the waves.

Nobody else had been recovered.

Roy just kept reliving the moment over and over in his mind.

_He was standing on the deck, waiting for the boy to reappear. He saw him come back into view and grab the handrail. Suddenly, the ship listed heavily to the side and he grabbed the rope lifeline for balance. The water washed over the deck with the force of a steam engine, knocking his feet out from under him and crashing over the side. He could see Ed in peril, calling for help, clinging desperately to the handrail as the wave crashed into him._

'_Colonel! Colonel!' he was crying out, flailing his legs, attempting to regain his footing on the ladder. _

'_Fullmetal!'_

'_Colonel! Help me!' _

_Roy saw Ed's face pale with cold and fear. His long blonde hair, dulled by the moisture and free from the braid, sticking to his cheeks and hanging in rat's tails around his shoulders. His golden eyes held a shocked, desperate expression, and they were locked onto his, shining orbs of light in the darkness._

'_Colonel!' he screamed as his flesh hand lost its grip on the rail. 'ROY!'_

_Then he fell, almost in slow motion, screaming the Colonel's name and a look of absolute terror, of fear, of _betrayal,_ on his young face. And Roy sat there, clinging to his lifeline, a coward who could do nothing but watch as a person he cared about fell into hell._

Roy sighed and hung his head. Edward had been crying out for help, calling out to him specifically, and he had sat there and done nothing. He had just watched as he became lost to the ocean. It was a memory that would haunt him for the rest of his life, those golden eyes looking to him as a last hope. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Ed's red coat, hanging from a peg on the wall next to his military issue jacket. He felt as if he had failed as a commanding officer and as a friend. He had promised himself he would protect his youngest charge. A lone tear fell from the eyes of the Flame Alchemist, landing on his uniform trousers staining a single small patch of cotton cloth a slightly deeper blue.

When it came to water, he truly was useless.

123456789123456789123456789123456789

Ed woke to find himself sitting on a hard, apparently wooden surface, his back propped up against an equally hard wall.

_Weird… Last thing I remember I was in the ocean. Did Mustang or one of the other soldiers rescue me? No… I'd be lying down in a bed if they had… so where am I? _

Unwilling to open his eyes, he used his other four senses to analyse the space he was in. The place smelt like damp timber and alcohol. He could hear water and the floor felt like it was swaying, so he was still on the ocean, and he could also make out the muffled sound of voices. He could taste blood and salt in his mouth and his whole body ached. It was very cold and he was wearing wet clothes. He tried to move, but found that his arms were above his head…

_What the…_

He opened his eyes to see he was chained up in a dark storage room filled with barrels and crates of wine, rum and food. His hands had been cuffed together and held above his head by a thick metal chain, making it impossible for him to bring them together to use alchemy. His pocket watch had been taken away from him too.

_Crap! Why is it always me?_

It was like being back in Cornello's dungeon again, only this time there was no Al to come and save him and he had no idea who he was dealing with. Seeing as he was chained up, the people were not going to be friendly towards him and they probably knew exactly who he was, or at least that he had something to do with the military.

Any other person would have panicked in this situation, but Ed thought more rationally. Panicking never got anybody anywhere, and it wasted time and energy. He would have to work out a way to escape, but that would be pointless on a ship at sea because where would he run to? He also needed to know exactly who he was dealing with, what they were like and whether they meant him any real harm.

_Better wait and see what happens then. Someone is bound to come down sooner or later._

He shifted around for a slightly more comfortable position on the floor, if that was even possible seeing as his hands were above his head and it was made of hard, unpadded wood, and settled down for the duration.

A/N: Erm… hello! I can't think of anything to add for this chapter, except that I hope you are enjoying my story so far. Thank you for reading this much of it – greatly appreciated! 


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: More pirates, and we introduce the pirate king! Arrr matey… Although technically my pirates are not pirates but terrorists. Piracy is just a side career. There are too many tales of the Ishbalans being the victims (which they are) but surely there would be more than just Scar out there exacting revenge.

**Chapter 10**

It was probably less than half hour later that someone came to check upon Ed. A fairly short, thin man with deep olive shaded skin. He wore dark shades, much like Scar did, so Ed was unable to see his eyes. The man noticed Ed was awake and smiled, his grin missing a single front tooth.

"I see you're awake at last," he commented. "It was about time you woke up. Boys of your age shouldn't be so lazy…"

Ed glared at him, but the usual evil effect of the Elric glare was lost to his shivering.

"You cold? I'll get you a blanket later, not that it really bothers me," said the pirate, leaning against a barrel. He had a cold voice, laced with cruel sarcasm. The tone sent shivers up Ed's spine.

"Who are you?" Ed growled, "Why am I here? Where am I?"

"So many questions," sighed the pirate, shaking his head. "I sure am glad you asked though." The pirate walked over to the shivering teenager and stood in front of him, towering above him, radiating a hidden power. "I am Azeez, captain of this vessel and warrior of justice in the name of the great Ishbala."

"Ishbalan pirates, eh?" asked Ed. The pirate grinned and removed his glasses, showing crimson red eyes.

"You could say that," he replied. "But we do more than just petty theft and piracy. We constitute an organisation that works for God, and you my young friend shall be the key to our new plans."

"You're terrorists?" exclaimed Ed in surprise. "But I thought Ishbala condemned killing!"

"Killing for the sake of justice and holy war in the name of Ishbala is allowed. Self defence, my boy," Azeez leered. "Anyway, who said anything about killing anyone? If our demands are met, there shall be no need for bloodshed."

"What do you want with me?" asked Ed, believing he already knew the answer.

"Well, they say the Ishbal war started when one of the Amestris military shot and killed an Ishbalan child. I know this not to be true, but if the country believes that lie then I'm willing to play along. Anyway, by securing a child of military importance, we can turn the lie to our advantage."

"I'm not of military importance," said Ed, hoping that maybe the Ishbalans didn't know who he was. "I'm just a teenager. Like the military is gonna care about me!"

"Your lies do nothing to convince me otherwise, especially when I have this," Azeez pulled a silver watch from his pocket, holding it by the chain and swaying it from side to side. "I think differently, Mr Elric."

Ed tried to hide his shock and surprise, but obviously a flicker of emotion had crossed his face as Azeez smiled at him in the manner that a shark would smile at a small fish.

_Shit – he knows who I am! This bloke is not someone to mess with…_

"Oh, this is just me being curious, but what is the importance of the date inscribed inside this thing? Only it really lowers its worth on the black market…"

"You opened my watch?!" growled Ed, angrily. "You bastard…"

"Tsch… temper temper! Such foul language! Ishbala would be ashamed of you," replied Azeez in a patronising tone. "You'll never reach heaven anyway, for God does not look highly on sinners like yourself. Unnatural scientists, working against what the great Ishbal has created… You should be grateful that like Ishbal, we are merciful. Others may execute you for your abomination."

"Isn't that your eventual plan anyway?" asked Ed.

"I hope for your sake that it does not come to that." Leaving Ed with that final thought, Azeez turned and left the storage room, closing the door behind him. Ed shivered again. His clothes were slowly drying, but he was still cold and damp and something about Azeez unnerved him.

_Shit…_

A/N: I did warn you earlier that Ed swears a lot… and it gets even worse than this! However, he only seems to swear at those he has need to swear at… so the terrorists, people who tick him off, Roy… you know..


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I love the word 'Nii-san', it sounds so cute!

**Chapter 11**

Two days later, the ship pulled in at Fal station, battered from the storm but with relatively little lasting damage. Roy left the ship in a daze, carrying both his and Ed's luggage with him. He couldn't bear to leave the boy's belongings behind, deciding it would be best if he brought them back to Central and gave them to his younger brother. Brian drove him back to the station in silence. He still had two tickets, a reservation in a private cabin for two people redeemable whenever, although only one person would be returning.

The train journey back to Central was uneventful. Roy sat with his head leant on the window, eyes glazed and trying not to think. Thinking just brought emotional pain. He moved only when a plump lady pushing a trolley of food politely knocked on the cabin and asked if he'd like any refreshments. He brought an overly-priced cheese sandwich, but didn't eat it leaving it to dry out and curl up at the corners.

He exited the train 8 hours later to find Hawkeye and Alphonse waiting for him on the platform with Black Hayate.

"Welcome back Sir," said Hawkeye. "We weren't expecting you back so early, but we received a call from the Amestris Naval Office saying you cancelled your mission to Xing." She noticed his appearance, his 5 o'clock shadow and his downcast expression. "Colonel, what's wrong?" she asked, with a concerned expression. She placed her hands on his shoulders, gazing into his face but he refused to meet her eyes.

"Colonel, where's Nii-san?" asked Al.

"Ed is… Edward…" Roy looked up at the bodiless soul. "Ed's gone."

Those two little words broke the man who was the Flame Alchemist. He cried openly, something he had not done since the Ishbalan war, collapsing onto Hawkeye who could do nothing other than soothe her superior officer with a hug.

"Nii-san…" murmered Al, disbelieving. "Ed is gone? He can't be gone… that's impossible…" His armour legs gave way and he fell to his knees with a loud clatter. "Nii-san…" Black Hayate whimpered and sniffed at his metal hands, limp in his lap. The sounds of dry sobbing echoed within the armour who could not cry.

123456789123456789123456789123456789

Roy sat on the sofa in Hawkeye's dorm, holding a mug of coffee and staring determinedly at the carpet. He was glad of her company. Black Hayate lay on the sofa next to him, and he idly scratched the dogs head with one hand. Hawkeye stood in the kitchenette, leaning against the worktop.

"How is Alphonse?" he asked her, raising his gaze up to her. He looked an emotional wreck, eyes bloodshot and rimmed with dark circles from tiredness.

"He went back to their room. He hasn't said a word since you told us what happened. I think he's in shock. I'll go check on him later," she replied.

"Thank you," he replied. He drank the coffee in silence, taking comfort in the warmth. He sighed, suddenly realising how tired he was.

"I should go now," he said. "I was up all last night. I need rest." He stood and walked dejectedly out of the dorm.

"Sir," said Riza, calling out as he reached the door. He turned to her with one hand on the door frame. "Will you be alright?" Roy nodded at her, swallowing. There seemed to be a permanent metaphorical lump forming there, accompanied by a sour taste of defeat and regret as he desperately held back tears.

"Don't do anything stupid, sir," she said with concern, remembering the drinking habit he had been fighting with since the Ishbalan war. Truthfully, Roy felt too empty at the moment to even contemplate getting drunk.

"Night Lieutenant," he mumbled and closed the door quietly behind him. He leant with his back against the whitewashed wall outside, staring at nothing. He stayed there for several minutes until leaving reluctantly to return to his own house.

Not since the death of Hughes had he felt so lost.

123456789123456789123456789123456789

The pirate vessel docked at a small town slightly further east than Fal. Two pirates went to collect Ed from below deck where he was shackled. They unlocked his hands but they were obviously inexperienced and not very knowledgeable about his ability.

The second they released his hands, he struggled, freed his wrists from their grasp, clapped his hands and slammed them on the floor. Two of the boards flew up and hit the pirates in the face, knocking one of them out and stunning the other. Ed scrambled to his feet and ran up the steps and out onto the deck. He squinted in the light, searching for a way off the ship as the stunned pirate below yelled out and brought all attention to where he stood. There was a cry from above him. He looked up to see Azeez pointing and yelling, face twisted into an angry scowl.

"Get him you fools! Don't let him get away!"

"Oh shit!" swore Ed, running as another pirate ran at him. He clapped his hands and slapped them against the cabin wall causing a spike to erupt out of it. The pirate ran into it and fell over, landing hard on his back. Ed grinned and continued running, but his glee was short lived.

The large pirate who had pulled him from the sea the other night loomed in front of him. Ed went to perform alchemy, but the pirate was faster than he looked. He grabbed Ed by the left wrist and twisted it around, forcing his hands apart and twisting it painfully up his back. Ed gasped in shock and pain, struggling to get free. He tried to kick the pirate, but the large man was faster, hooking his leg around Ed's ankles and tripping him over. Ed fell onto his front, grazing the side of his face on the rough wooden deck, his arm still forced painfully up his back as the pirate held him down on the deck. He kept wriggling, but try as he might could not get free. He raised his head and found himself looking at Azeez.

"Foolish child, do you think we'd let you get away?" he sneered, face contorted with an unpleasant frown and eyes blazing with anger. "My subordinates may have forgotten what you're capable of – they shall be punished – but Magnum here is better than that. Sedate him - that should keep him quiet and malleable for a few hours." Azeez clicked his fingers at a second pirate who was carrying a small leather bag and walked away.

"NO!" Ed growled, struggling furiously. He saw the second pirate approach him, pulling a syringe and a vial of clear liquid from the leather bag. Ed clawed at the deck with his automail, splinters of wood flying up as the metal fingers grated against the boards. "No – not the needle!" he yelled, watching as the second pirate pushed the needle into the vial and drew the liquid into the syringe. He flicked it and pushed out the air bubbles.

"Kids, scared of a little prick," tutted Magnum taking the syringe from the other pirate. Ed swore loudly and vulgarly as the needle was pricked into his upper left arm, kicking furiously. The struggling was short lived though as the sedative took effect and he lost the use of his limbs and conscious thought. He vaguely remembered being rolled over and having his hands re-shackled in a wooden block before he fell asleep.

123456789123456789123456789123456789

Magnum released the kid, whose arm slid numbly down from his back to his side. He flipped him over and grabbed a set of stocks to cuff him and prevent him bringing his hands together. Once happy that the kid was fully sedated and secure, he hoisted him off the deck and threw him over his left shoulder, holding him round the waist so his legs and arms hung limply down towards the ground.

"Honestly, those guys are idiots," he moaned to the smaller pirate who had provided the sedatives. "I told them not to let him use his hands. Azeez is not going to be happy. Look what this brat managed to do to his ship!"

"It's OK now though, right Magnum? We have him secured, he wont escape so easily again," said the smaller pirate, his voice breathy and raspy like wind through dry leaves.

"That he won't, Mortimer. That he won't," Magnum shifted the boys' weight slightly so he's sat better on his shoulder. "Come on Mort, let's get to the van before Azeez comes and yells at us for dawdling. I think he wants to be at East City by sundown."

A/N: Amestris in my story is about the size of Great Britain (w00t creative license). Therefore, it would only take you about 12-15 hours to travel from East to West by direct train, with major cities linked by direct express routes. The trains are still the usual steam engines. This will help give you an idea of distance and travelling times in later chapters.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Most sedatives of this nature were not invented before the 1930s. I did some research. Anaesthetics used were generally inhaled, such as chloroform, although some bloodstream ones were beginning to appear but were not in regular use. However, this is a fictional land, where alchemy (from which chemistry is derived from) has advanced more than physics. My mind has decided they have invented more complex chemicals of various uses at a faster rate than our world and my mind came up with this waffle, so these sedatives exist in pre-WW2 Amestris.

**Chapter 12**

Ed awoke from his sedation in stages. While his mind became active fairly soon after sedation, the rest of his body was unwilling to cooperate. After a while movement returned to his eyelids, and he opened his eyes to find himself lying on his side on a rough blanket in what he took to be the back of a van. It was very dark, with a small window of light coming from what he assumed to be the driver's cabin. The floor was also vibrating, indicating the vehicle was moving. He tried speaking, but found that there was something soft and cottony blocking his mouth – a gag had been tied tightly round his face.

_Great – unable to yell for help._

Not that he could anyway. Whatever drug they had used had left his throat dry, constricted and sore. He also had a bitch of a headache. Yelling would just cause more pain.

It was some time before movement began to return to his limbs. It started with the big toe of his right foot.

_Of all things to regain movement first, it had to be the most useless piece of my remaining flesh!_

He concentrated on wiggling his toe and soon he could move his whole foot. As feeling slowly returned to his left hand and neck, he noticed that his hands had been shackled.

After a couple of hours he could move his right leg and his left arm, although they still felt heavy and unresponsive. Curiously the nerves connecting to his automail had not regained feeling yet, and the metallic limbs hung deadweight and unmoving. Somewhere in the time between regaining feeling in his limbs and the van reaching its destination he fell asleep again.

He awoke when someone grabbed him and dragged him out of the van. He was set unsteadily on his feet, still woozy from sleep, and discovered that feeling hadn't quite returned in full to his automail leg. He stumbled, and would have fallen if whoever had taken him out of the van wasn't holding him up by the stocks. He recognised the man as the one who had defeated him earlier, and looking around he found they had come to some form of warehouse. It was beginning to get dark, and he estimated the time to be around 7pm. He tried talking, but his words were muffled by the gag.

"Shuddup brat," growled the large man. "And follow me." He pulled the stocks forward forcing Ed to follow him unsteadily, limping with the automail and stumbling every few steps as he misjudged where the floor was. Ed wasn't going to obey someone who didn't ask nicely, and he complained the whole way, even though his ranting was blocked by the fabric and his throat still felt sore and dry. The man ignored this and took him into the warehouse, past the various unused machines and storage bins, leading him to a disused office at the far corner.

The office was fairly small, dark and sparsely furnished. However, sometime in the past the terrorists had altered it to their specifications as a cell. The wall had several chains attached to it and some metal restraints.

"Sit there," commanded the large man, literally throwing Ed down in the corner. Ed growled, annoyed at being treat like an object rather than a person. The man knelt down besides him, holding up one of the chains from the wall.

"The boss thought it would be funny if we took your title as a dog of the military seriously," he said, grinning. At the end of the chain was a thick leather dog collar, the type used to restrain large, strong or dangerous beasts. He attached it round the youth's neck, effectively chaining him to the wall. The man then removed Ed's gag, probably so he could listen happily to the complaints.

"You cannot be serious!?" yelled Ed the minute the fabric was released. "I'm not a bloody animal you bastard! If you're going to restrain me at least do something a little more dignified!"

"Oooh… ickle baby knows long words!" laughed Magnum. He patted Ed patronisingly on the head. "I like you kid. Now stay there like a good boy!" He stood up and left the office, smiling happily at the various curse words Ed hurled his way.

123456789123456789123456789123456789

Magnum entered the plush office of his boss wearing a gleeful grin. He found his boss, Azeez, sitting in a leather armchair at a mahogany desk sipping coffee from a mug and chatting to some of the other terrorists. Mortimer was there, listening intently, as was Abdul and Fahim, two of Azeez's most loyal goons. Neither of them possessed any real physical strength, but Fahim was as bright as a button and sharp as a knife, brilliant as a tactical warrior and there wasn't a weapon around that Abdul couldn't use effectively and efficiently. Mortimer, who unlike most of the Ishbalans had been born with brown eyes instead of the usual crimson red, was a specialist in spying and stealth, his genetic disorder allowing him to slip past as a regular civilian. Magnum, of course, was a physical hand-to-hand combat expert.

"Ah – Magnum, glad you could join us," said Azeez, happily. "Care for a drink?"

"No thanks boss," he replied. "Caffeine makes it hard for me to sleep."

"I trust the boy is sufficiently restrained," he enquired. Magnum grinned maliciously.

"Chained up like a dog, just as you requested," he said. "He didn't seem very happy with that arrangement. Not very happy at all! Yelling and swearing like a good-un when I left him."

"He'll learn to live with it," said Azeez. "You're just in time to hear the next stage in the plan." Magnum stood next to Fahim to listen in. "I propose we hold the boy hostage. We know from intelligence that he's under the jurisdiction of a Colonel Roy Mustang, so it is to him we must send notes."

Azeez opened a draw in his desk and took out a piece of yellow parchment. On it was stuck various letters from some daily newspapers, spelling out a warning.

"This is a poison pen letter containing details of everything we want achieved for the cause of Ishbal. It includes the freedom of Ishbala's people and the handing over of a large sum of money. I have given the Colonel three days to fulfil this, starting tomorrow. Mortimer here is going to deliver this letter to Central, you can get there by night train and return during the day for the next note – it's only a four hour journey on the express route. However, before returning I want you to rendezvous with one of the military idiots at the location stated on the note. Try and negotiate with them – they may be willing to accept our terms, although I highly doubt it." At this Mortimer sighed. He wasn't going to get much sleep for the next few days. "Cheer up Mort, it's only for three days and I guarantee something good at the end of it – either money and freedom… or revenge." Azeez had a cold look in his eyes as he growled the last few words. Ideally, he would have both – the military took his entire family away from him and led him into a life of crime, and he could never forgive them for that. But Azeez was an honest sort and he would stick by his word. If Colonel Mustang was willing to meet his demands, then the boy would go free and relatively unharmed.

"This letter must be delivered to Central headquarters, where it should be taken to Colonel Mustang's desk." Azeez pulled an object from his pocket – the silver watch they had removed from the child. He let the chain run through his fingers, the heavy watch swaying from side to side. Azeez laid it on the table upon the note. "Take this also. Give him a clue as to who we have."

Mortimer nodded and took the letter and watch, folding the parchment up and placing it inside the inner pocket of his rust-coloured jacket. He left the room in silence, going to catch the next train to central.

"Right, now that that's sorted, I believe the child could do with a bath." Azeez looked at Magnum. "You, Magnum, are now in charge of that kid's health. You will provide him with food and drink, escort him to the bathroom when nature calls and see to it that he's still alive and presentable over the next three days. Right now, I think he could do with a wash – he hasn't had one since we fished him from the waves and saltwater is bad for automail. Makes it go rusty. I believe you know what you must do." Magnum smiled maliciously.

"Yes Boss, I know what I must do." He exited the room laughing quietly to himself as Azeez talked to Abdul and Fahim about his plans for guarding the warehouse.

A/N: I want to purchase one of these military dogs from a pet shop. However, I think human rights prevents me from doing so…


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: This chapter isn't really necessary, but I wanted Ed to be presentable in my story. It's been a week or more since he last bathed.

**Chapter 13**

"You bastard, where the hell are you taking me now?" growled Ed, being dragged along by the right arm. He tried digging his feet into the ground, but Magnum simply dragged him along which Ed found uncomfortably painful so he desisted.

"Dogs are supposed to look kindly upon their masters," said Magnum. "I'm taking you for a nice bath."

"A bath?" said Ed, sceptical. Somehow, he couldn't imagine this place providing him with a warm luxurious tub of scented bubbly water and a bar of creamy soap. He was right to be doubtful. Magnum had led him into what seemed to be an old shower room, only the showers had been removed. All that was left in the pink-tiled room was a hosepipe attached to a faucet and a bucket of water with a sponge and a cheap tablet of hand soap. "I appreciate the need to be clean and all, but how am I meant to achieve that when my hands are cuffed together?" he asked, fearing he knew the answer.

"You don't," replied Magnum. "You get special hands on treatment."

"Hey! You dare touch me and I'll – OW!" Magnum threw Ed lightly to the floor, and he fell onto the tiles, skidding backwards a couple of metres on the shiny surface. "You stay away from me you pervert!" he yelled when Magnum knelt down calmly and removed first Ed's boots and then his trousers. He seemed very adept at undoing buckles and zips one-handed, using his spare hand to pin Ed to the floor. "Gimmie back my trousers you crazy psycho! Perverted bastard! Paedophile!" screamed Ed, trying to kick Magnum and failing. He was left lying on the tiles in just his tank top and boxers. Magnum retrieved the hose and turned on the tap as Ed rolled onto his front and tried to crawl away commando style.

"And where do you think you're going, pup?" enquired Magnum, grabbing Ed by the left leg and pulling him back. Ed yelled and tried kicking again but was suddenly silenced by shock as Magnum held the hose over him. The water was ice cold and momentarily stunned the boy the way only sudden freezing water can. He lay, struggling for breath and gasping as the cold hit him. Then he yelled again as he became accustomed to the temperature.

"You bastard – that water is freezing!" He attempted to crawl away again, but Magnum had now pinned him to the floor using his left foot. The large man knelt down and hosed down Ed's hair, soaking it fully. Then he used the tablet of soap to create a thin lather and scrubbed hard in the long blonde strands. "OUCH! You're enjoying this aren't you?" growled Ed as his hair was washed. "Stop touching my hair you fucking bastard – I'll kill you! GAH! You got soap in my eye!" He flailed around a bit trying to get free, but Magnum had him firmly pinned to the floor. The man grabbed a sponge from the bucket and rubbed the soap over it before scrubbing roughly on Ed's body, over his arms and legs and under his vest, rolling him over so he could do his chest, but skirting round anything under the boxers. Ed complained angrily the whole time, squirming around in discomfort and disgust, continuously trying to kick or hit the large Ishbalan. "What the hell are you using there you bastard – a bloody scouring pad?!"

At this, Magnum picked up the bucket and emptied it over the moaning child. The water in the bucket was colder than that from the hose, if that was at all possible, and once again Ed found himself suffering from cold shock.

"Shut up, dog-boy!" said Magnum, annoyed. He had never heard anyone who cursed so much in his life, and he really didn't appreciate being called a bastard. He redirected the hose at Ed again, rinsing off the last few soap suds, happy that the boy was quiet for once although he sat there gaping like a fish and shivering from the cold water, making small and indistinct high-pitched noises of discomfort. "Here's a towel," he said, throwing a thin and threadbare pink towel onto Ed while he turned off the faucet. Ed sat up and wrapped the towel around him as best as he could with his hands still shackled. He was still shivering, water dripping off his hair and soaking the towel in seconds.

"C…c…can I have my t…t…trousers back?" he asked in a small voice. "I'm f…f…freezing!"

"You can have them back when you're dry," said Magnum. "They need a wash."

"What?! You s…s…showered me while I still h…h…had clothes on! It'll take hours f…f…for me to dry off!" Ed stuttered, his thin wet clothing clinging to his body and sapping the heat.

"Not my problem. At least you're clean now."

"I'd rather be filthy and warm…" muttered Ed.

"I heard that, and it was the boss' orders that you were bathed. Now, I'm gonna take you back to your cell and you can have those rags you call trousers back in a couple of hours, OK?"

"I don't really have much choice in the matter, do I," mumbled Ed as Magnum picked him off the floor and led him, still dripping wet with the towel wrapped round him, back to his cell. "You keep leaving me sitting around in wet clothes and I'm gonna die of pneumonia," he added when Magnum re-chained him to the wall.

"Again, that's not my problem. Besides, its warm in here – you'll dry off soon," said Magnum, standing and leaving Ed alone in the room once more.

A/N: I deliberately left him with clothes. It avoids yaoi and it seems cruel to leave him soaking wet and freezing cold in just his underwear. Also, you cannot remove a vest while your hands are tied together – it just gets caught up around your wrists – and they dare not release his hands because of his unique skill.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: We'll assume Mortimer made it to his destination in good time.

**Chapter 14**

Roy sat in his office, idly filling in the week's worth of paperwork Riza had left him to do. Usually, he wouldn't be this productive, finding various ways to procrastinate. Now however, he found keeping active kept his mind off the loss of Ed. Somehow, working filled the void.

He sighed and dropped the completed paper into his out-tray, pulling the next one towards him. Most of these papers were just formality, signatures confirming deliveries and permissions, nothing of major importance. The work was tedious and boring, but Roy was past caring.

Suddenly, Riza Hawkeye barged into his office. This was not uncommon, but she had an odd expression on her face. She carried a piece of paper in one hand.

"Colonel, someone left this note for you in the reception. I think you should read it," Her expression was serious enough, but her eyes were full of worry. Roy took the note from her and opened it out on the desktop.

It was a piece of yellow-tinged thick parchment, the type commonly used in the Eastern countries. Glued to it were letters from various newspapers in a poison-pen format. The note read:

'We have something you are missing. Meet our requirements and it will be returned to you undamaged. Fail to meet our demands and you shall never see it alive again. You have three days.'

A list of demands followed, written in black ink in block capitals. Most of them were the release of Ishbalan prisoners of war and the refugees set free from the designated areas, things Mustang couldn't authorise even if he wanted to. There was also a request for a large sum of money and directions to a rendezvous point to hand over said money and discuss negotiations.

The letter was puzzling him. They had used the words 'it' to describe whatever it was they had taken, suggesting it was an object or information of some description. However, they had also used the word 'alive' so the item was living, meaning an animal or a person. The question now was what or who had they taken captive.

"They left this with the note," said Riza. She placed a single item on top of the note in the centre of the desk.

It was a silver state alchemist watch.

Roy picked it up and examined it. He flicked it open. A scruffy inscription scratched inside the lid 'Don't Forget – 3.Oct. 11' stared back at him. The date reminded him of something…

'_That was the day we burned our house and left. There was no turning back after that…'_

"Edward," he whispered. "Fullmetal's still alive!"

_Alive he may be, but he's still in danger._

"Lieutenant Hawkeye, gather my subordinates. Also, call in Alphonse Elric. Tell them to meet me back here in an hour. We have things we need to discuss." He pointed at the door, motioning for her to get going.

"Yes sir," she replied, saluting before leaving the office.

Roy smiled to himself, hope returning. Ed may be in mortal peril somewhere, but he was alive.

_And it's up to me to rescue him._

123456789123456789123456789123456789

Roy's office seemed unusually crowded when everyone was present. Hawkeye was standing next to him, face impassive but eyes giving away her feeling of unease. Breda seemed disinterested but after years of service next to the man Roy knew better, and it was obvious that while Breda acted as if he didn't like kids, he had a certain soft spot for the Elric boys. Havoc stood next to him, the ever-present cigarette hanging from his mouth, seeming a bit disgruntled because he had just cancelled a date on short notice to be there. Falman just looked his usual self, slightly bored, slightly formal and with an air of knowing more than he let on. Fury seemed skittish and very worried, eager for the meeting to start. He kept fiddling with his glasses, adjusting their position on his nose. Then there was Alphonse, his armoured bulk dominating above everyone, yet he seemed smaller than usual. He still hadn't spoken to Roy since he had returned, and Roy had a suspicion Al partially blamed him for what had happened. None of them had any idea exactly why they had been called in apart from Riza. All she had told them when gathering them together was it concerned the disappearance of Edward Elric.

Roy cleared his throat to get attention, and his subordinates looked up at him.

"I have gathered you all here today because of this." He produced the parchment and placed it upon the table. "This was delivered here this morning, stating that an Ishbalan terrorist organisation has kidnapped something of value from the military and is holding it up for ransom. They have demanded a large sum of money, and the release of many Ishbalan prisoners and civilians, clauses that are not within my jurisdiction to pass." Roy paused for effect. He pulled the silver pocket watch out of his pocket and held it up in front of him, rotating on the chain, glinting in the light as it span round. "This was left with the note. It's a State Alchemists watch, military issue, well cared for."

His subordinates stared at him, a couple of them cottoning on what the Colonel was implying. Their faces suddenly changed from annoyance at being called in to attentiveness. The effect would have been comical if not for the seriousness of the situation.

"Alphonse," barked the Colonel, causing the armoured soul to jump, a noise sounding like a surprised gasp echoing inside the hollow metallic torso. "Is this your brother's pocket watch?"

Al strode forwards and took the watch off the Colonel, examining it closely. The familiar dents and scrapes on the watch's surface spoke volumes to the 14-year-old soul… there was the dent from when Ed had thrown the watch out of a third storey window in a fit of rage… and here the buffed edge from when his brother had fought that priest in Liore and they had taken his watch from him… and there was the scrape from when Winry had tried dismantling it and her screwdriver had slipped. Ed had gone ape when he found out Winry had opened his watch and to this day Al had no idea why. Nevertheless, this was definitely Ed's watch.

"Yes sir, this is Ed's," he replied. "I'm sure of it." Something clicked within his metaphorical mind. "Does that mean Nii-san is alive?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes, Al, I believe it does indicate that Fullmetal is indeed alive and well somewhere out there," said Roy, taking the watch back off Al. "However, he is currently with these terrorists, and if this note is anything to go by we have three days to meet their demands or they will kill him."

Alphonse seemed to shake with worry. Roy imagined that if he had a human face it would be written with shock and fear for his brother's safety.

"Three days is plenty of time for us to formulate a plan to rescue the boy. I propose that first we try a non-violent approach. This letter states a rendezvous point for the handing over of money. Havoc – you are our most approachable soldier here, your laid-back nature could help lull these terrorists into a false sense of security. I want you to go to this rendezvous point and talk with their representative, try and come to an arrangement. I am willing to give them the money they ask for in exchange for Edward, but explain that the rest of this is out of my jurisdiction. Tell them that it's the money or nothing. Fury, Hawkeye, you two go with him. If anything goes wrong, such as an ambush, I want you there to back Havoc up." Roy had the air of a commander now, rather than his usual lazy, egotistical composure. It was at times like this that people could see how he had risen to the rank of Colonel at such a young age.

The three subordinates mentioned all nodded their heads in acknowledgement, saluting and giving an exclamation of 'Sir!'

"Breda, Falman, I want you two to gather a small army for me. Go and see Major Armstrong and his troops, they'll be willing to help. If the negotiations fail, we may need to resort to violence."

They also saluted and acknowledged Roy's command.

"Alphonse, you are not technically a part of the military so there's not much you can do for me at the moment, unless you don't mind nipping out to the shop and picking me up some lunch. I'm going to be very busy for the next few days trying to rescue your brother, and I'd appreciate it greatly if you could help me by being my PA for a while."

"Anything Sir, if it'll help Nii-san," replied the child.

"Ok, everyone clear on their orders?" His subordinates acknowledged him formally. "Good. Meet back here tomorrow morning to report your findings. Now, move out!"

"Yes Sir!"

A/N: Watch as Roy Mustang leaps into action! He can be very commanding when he wants to be.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Again, later in this chapter, assume Mortimer makes good time with his journey.

**Chapter 15**

Havoc waited nervously by the dodgy pub the note had given as a rendezvous point. Fury and Hawkeye stood with him, Hawkeye with one hand resting on the handle of her pistol, which sat in a waist holster at her right side. Black Hayate was there also, sniffing around the ground and held securely on a leash by Fury. Hayate was growing into quite a large dog and Riza had brought him along as an intimidation, even though everyone knew Hayate wouldn't harm a fly. There was a polite cough from behind them, and Havoc turned to see a rather frail looking man wearing a rust-coloured jacket and beige clothing. The man had the olive-shaded skin of an Ishbalan, but his eyes were a deep brown.

"Excuse me, sir," he said in a quiet, raspy voice. "You wouldn't happen to have been sent here by a Colonel Roy Mustang would you?"

Havoc looked surprised, but he hid his emotions.

"Yes, I am here to meet up with the representative of a terrorist organisation. Would you be that person?"

Mortimer felt it would be stupid to say 'yes' outright. He would play on his genetic trait, make it seem as if he had been hired or forced into the representative position.

"I have been hired by that organisation to meet with the military representatives," he stated. "They paid me well, told me what to say, but I do not know of their plans or why I am to meet with you. All I know is the demands they want met. I am to report back this evening with your answer."

"Most of those demands cannot be met by the faction the organisation has targeted. The Colonel simply does not have it within his jurisdiction to authorise the demands made. However, he is willing to offer the money in exchange for the item." Havoc had been told by Hawkeye not to use Ed's name. She had said it would give away too much. They had to seem heartless and weak, the whole point being that maybe the Ishbalan terrorists would have a modicum of pity on Ed and release him with less demands. It wasn't very likely, the organisation wasn't stupid and knew the true power of the military, but it was worth a try.

"I'm sorry, sir, but the people who hired me said that it was all or nothing. They will not accept just money."

"But we cannot authorise the other demands."

"I am sorry, sir. However, I could take the money today as a peace offering and maybe the organisation will give you more time to meet the other demands."

"If your organisation will not accept the money then there will be no deal." Havoc had been trained not to bargain with terrorists. He said this out loud to the representative, voice laced with anger. "We are not willing to bargain with terrorists. We offer the money or nothing – they can take it or leave it. If they won't accept just the money, then they receive nothing and we will have to take drastic action."

"Suit yourselves, it's not my problem. I get paid either way," shrugged the man. "I'll let them know what you have said. Are you sure you don't want to negotiate?"

"We're sure," replied Havoc, looking at his two companions who nodded in agreement. Riza was wearing a dark frown as she stared at the man.

"Well if you're positive… I shall be going now. I have to return to the organisation by the evening or I won't get paid. I'll let them know what you said. Thank you for your time good sirs," he said, turning to leave.

_Fools, _thought Mortimer. _Insolent pawns of the military dogs… _

Havoc, Fury and Hawkeye watched as Mortimer left and melted into the shadows of a dark alley.

"Well, that was pointless," Havoc commented to Hawkeye. She stroked the handle of her gun in response, glaring into the darkness where the man had disappeared. "At least we know what we're dealing with now – that kid's got himself mixed up in something big!"

"I wonder if Ed will be ok," pondered Fury out loud, Black Hayate wandering round his legs so he had to move the leash around his body to prevent his feet becoming entangled.

"Yeah, the boss'll be fine. He's the Fullmetal Alchemist after all," replied Havoc.

"He's still just a child though," said Hawkeye, hand dropping from her gun holster to her side. "We best get back to the dorms and write a report for the Colonel tomorrow."

"Yeah, damn paperwork. All this for a bratty kid – do you realise I missed the date of a lifetime for this?" said Havoc. Then he sighed. "I do hope the kid's alright though."

123456789123456789123456789123456789

"Did the Colonel abide to our requests?" asked Azeez. It was late evening, and Mortimer had arrived back from Central. The thin messenger looked shattered, having spent almost 9 hours travelling by rail during the course of the day. "Did he agree to releasing anyone?"

"No sir," replied Mortimer. "He sent some of his goons, who told me it wasn't in the Colonel's jurisdiction to authorise half those requests. They offered money, but in the end told me they wouldn't bargain with terrorists."

"Fools," Azeez laughed. "I don't care if they fulfil those requests or not – either way I get my revenge."

Ed was pretending to sleep in the corner of the cell, his hands still in the stocks, chained to the wall by a collar round his neck like a dog. He had been given back his trousers and boots by Magnum earlier in the day, although even that had been accompanied by humiliation. Magnum had thought it a good idea to brush Ed's now-dry hair. Now, Ed had a thing that he had 'suffered' from since he was a small child – he didn't like other people touching his hair. There had been numerous occasions when Granny Pinako had come running from her house to theirs, having heard screams from her home in the next field and fearing the worse, only to find Trisha attempting to comb Ed's hair and Ed screaming blue murder and making the simple task an incredibly tedious one. It was also partially the reason Ed had let his hair get long – he really hated having haircuts. Needless to say, Ed did not appreciate the big Ishbalan man pinning him to the floor again and raking a harsh bristle brush through his knotted locks while he squirmed about and yelled abuse some more. He was oddly grateful to discover that his trousers had been laundered before being returned to him though.

He now sat slouched against the wall with his eyes closed, listening intently to the terrorists' conversation. He had heard all the demands they had asked and that the military had refused. Inside, he seethed with anger – how could they expect the Colonel to authorise things like that? Only the Fuhrer has the power to do that, and the Fuhrer wasn't going to release countless Ishbalans just to save him. Ed would be killed, the military would mourn his loss and commend his bravery, probably promoting him a couple of ranks as a sign of respect, and the world would continue to turn as it always had done.

"We need something to motivate that lazy Colonel to do something… he needs more proof that we're not just playing around here." Azeez approached Ed, who found it much harder to feign sleep when the creepy Ishbalan was hovering over him. It took all his self control not to move or open his eyes.

Azeez kicked him in the side. Ed yelped loudly and doubled over in pain and surprise, gasping for air.

"Wake up you lazy blasphemous child," growled Azeez.

"What do you want, bastard," spat Ed angrily, trying to straighten up. Azeez grabbed his hair harshly, tugging on it painfully.

"I want some of this," he said in a low voice. He pulled a switchblade from one of his pockets, flicking it open and holding it near Ed's head.

"You bastard, you wouldn't dare," growled Ed, trying to shake his head free. "Get the fuck off my hair!" Azeez just calmly slit away a couple of inches of hair from the back of Ed's head, leaving a clump that was shorter than the rest. He released Ed, throwing him casually sideways onto the floor. The Ishbalan tied the hairs together with a short length of thread.

"Take this to Central with a note reminding that lazy-ass Colonel and his loyal goons that he has two days remaining until Eddy-boy goes bye-bye," said Azeez. The messenger nodded wearily and took the lock of hair, slouching out of the room.

"You are a sick, twisted piece of shit, you know that," swore Ed, picking himself up from the floor.

"And you're a blasphemous, shrimpy little brat who doesn't know when it's wise to keep his big trap shut," remarked Azeez coolly, following the messenger out of the room and ignoring Ed's outburst at being called small again.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLIMG A SHRIMP!?" Ed yelled angrily. "HEY! DON'T WALK OUT WHEN I'M YELLING AT YOU!"

A/N: Ed's last words in this chapter really remind me of this boy I'm good friends with. It's just the sort of thing he'd come out with – 'Don't walk out on me when I'm yelling at you!' Interestingly enough, he always pokes fun at my height, so probably the 'Who're you calling a shrimp!?' line would be mine! 


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: There is no Ed in this chapter - none whatsoever. Plenty of Roy though.

**Chapter 16**

"Sir!" yelled Havoc, marching into the office. "There's been another note left." He had come in that morning with his report on the rendezvous, only to be told by the receptionist that a letter had been delivered for Colonel Mustang that morning by a mysterious tanned stranger in a rust-coloured jacket. The description sounded suspiciously similar to the representative they had met up with yesterday.

Havoc thrust the note down on the desk, some stray ash from his cigarette fluttering down on top of the desktop. Roy opened the letter, and a small yellow object fell out of it.

'Two days, Colonel.' was written on the note in the same poison-pen style as the last one.

On closer inspection, the object was a lock of deep blonde hair, held together with a piece of white string.

"Oh God…" murmured Roy, holding the hair between thumb and forefinger. He knew who's it was - there was no-one else who had hair of that lion-gold shade that Roy knew of.

"These people won't listen to reason," said Havoc. "We told their representative that most of their requests couldn't be authorised by us, and even if they could it would be impossible to achieve in three days, but he wouldn't listen. We even offered him the cash you suggested, and he just told us that all their requests must be met for the bargain to take place. There was no way we could threaten him either because they'd hired an outsider."

"Did you give him the money?" asked Roy.

"No, in the end we didn't. We told him we wouldn't bargain with terrorists," Havoc replied. "Colonel, what should we do? I don't want the Fullmetal-boss to die – jeez, the poor boy's just a kid!"

"We have to find out where these terrorist pirates are keeping him. If we can discover his location then there's a chance we might be able rescue him," said Roy, thinking aloud. "Havoc, you and Fury tap the phones in East Headquarters. I have a feeling our next warning may not be in note form. Also, send in Warrant Officer Falman. I have a job for him."

"Yes sir," said Havoc, saluting. He left the room to find Fury.

A few minutes later, Falman warily entered the office. His squinty eyes examined the Colonel, who sat at his desk in a pensive position, head resting on his clasped hands.

"You wanted to see me Colonel Mustang?" Falman asked.

"Ah, yes. You're good with investigations, right?"

"Erm… yes… I suppose so sir," Falman said, curious. "Why?"

"Do you recon we could narrow down the areas concerned by identifying the newspapers used to write this?" asked Roy, holding out the note. "We have established it is eastern area by the paper type used, but each town and each province has its own local paper, does it not? I figured that if we can identify the paper used we could pinpoint the town."

"I suppose we could sir, but there's still the chance they used a newspaper from a different town to avoid detection. That and papers all use similar fonts," said Falman.

"I'm not asking if it will be difficult or not. I'm asking if it's at all possible," said Roy, eyes dark and expressionless.

"It would be possible sir."

"Good. Falman, I want you to investigate which newspapers could have been used in the creation of this note. As you know, Central library has every newspaper from every province in the eastern area, including the latest ones. I have allowed you special permission to go there under my jurisdiction. You might find Sheska there, who I'm sure will be more than willing to help if you ask her nicely. She's probably read all those papers anyway, you know what she's like, and her photographic memory may speed up the process. I'm trusting you, Falman," said Roy. He handed Falman the note and also a receipt of entry so Falman wouldn't get asked any questions about his purpose of study.

"I'll do my best sir," Falman remarked, taking the note and the receipt. He saluted and left the office and Roy found himself once more alone.

He picked the golden hair up from the desk and held it in his left hand. He lightly stroked the strands with the index finger of his right hand, feeling the tickly softness on the fingertip. He sighed, wondering if he'd ever see the person those hairs belonged to alive again.

01234567890123456789

Falman sat in Central Library surrounded by the previous weeks' newspapers, scratching his head with a pencil. He hoped Breda was doing alright at amassing a small attack force without him, not that that would be a difficult task for a tactical genius like Breda. Falman still had not once beaten the guy at chess, and this was very annoying to the walking dictionary. He sighed, searching through the papers.

"Anything wrong, sir?" asked a small female voice from his left side. He looked up to see Sheska there, wearing a curious expression and carrying a pile of papers.

"Sheska, hey, I'm glad you're here. You might be able to help me," he said.

"Help? How so?" she said, placing the papers down on the desk and taking a seat next to him.

"I don't know if you've heard what happened to Edward Elric recently," said Falman.

"I heard," she replied. "I heard he was missing at sea, presumed dead. It upset me greatly - I owe that boy a lot."

"Well, the situation has changed. Turns out he's alive and being held captive by terrorists, and they sent these notes asking for money and the release of POWs and stuff which we cannot authorise. If we don't fulfil their demands within the next couple of days, then the kid will be killed. The Colonel has set me the task of deciphering the newspapers used to construct these letters, as this could narrow down the regions in which the terrorists are. We know its east area, but where we have no idea. The Colonel thought maybe you could help as you have probably read all the papers and your photographic memory might recognise fonts," said Falman. He held out the poison-pen note for Sheska to look at.

"I recognise some of the fonts… This one is from the front page of East City Times…" She pointed to a capital 'E' on the original note. "This one too… and this… In fact, all these are… but this one here isn't." She pointed at an 'I'. "That looks familiar, but I can't remember from where."

"Hey, can you help me out here? With two of us working on the job, we might be able finish this task much faster," said Falman.

"Sure, I'd be happy to help. Let me just deliver these papers to General Hakuro and I'll be right back," she said with a smile. Falman blushed slightly. While he would never admit it, he had a slight crush on the bookish woman. Something about her round glasses and messy haircut made his heart melt. That and she was just a plain, sensible girl, the kind of girl he liked to spend time with.

"I'll be waiting right here," he replied, smiling back at her. "And maybe after all this fiasco is cleared up we could, you know, get a drink or something?"

"We'll see," she said, picking up the papers and walking away. Falman could have sworn she had a pinkish glow to her cheeks as she left him to his research.

A/N: Hehe… I set up Falman and Sheska. It's an odd couple, but watch Episode 37 of the anime when they bump into each other and see her surprise when Falman says he's looking for a 'smart, funny girl with a good personality' (or something along those lines). I imagine they'd be good together. Falman doesn't get enough love in my opinion.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Azeez is a genuinely scary guy. He's one of only a few people than can terrify Ed with just a glare or a word. It's his aura mostly – he hates Ed on impulse simply because he is not Ishbalan. He hates him even more because he's in the military and he's an alchemist.

**Chapter 17**

"What the hell do you want now?" asked Ed as Magnum unchained him for the sixth time that day. He had had two bathroom breaks, two meal breaks and one just for exercise. Magnum seemed to enjoy leading him around the warehouse like some form of pet. "Surely it's not time for another bathroom break already – you took me less than an hour ago!"

"No, it's not a bathroom break. The Boss needs you for something."

"Tell the bastard to do it himself," scoffed Ed.

"It would be pretty difficult for the Boss to imitate your voice, Eddy-boy. Now come on." Magnum dragged Ed unwillingly to his feet and led him to Azeez's office.

Magnum forced Ed to sit on a spindly wooden chair in the office, holding him down by the shoulders. Looking round, Ed saw a mahogany desk with a phone resting on it and a pile of paper held down by a heavy glass weight. The terrorist leader observed Ed with crimson eyes from the plush armchair behind the desk, looking him up and down with one eyebrow raised.

"You did your job well, Magnum," he commented lightly. "The boy looks to be positively beaming with health. Shame it was such a waste of time, especially if the military doesn't abide by our demands."

"You bastard," spat Ed. "How can you expect a mere Colonel to authorise what you asked?"

"Oh, you overheard my conversation with Mortimer? Not that it matters. I never expected them to meet my demands anyway," said Azeez coldly.

"Basically, you're saying that it doesn't matter what happens, I'm going to die tomorrow anyway…" Ed swallowed. Azeez stared intently at him, those red eyes filling him with fear. Magnum failed to have the same effect on him, maybe because if situations were different the larger Ishbalan would have been a genuinely nice guy - a bit rough around the edges maybe, but still a decent civilian. The only reason he was such a prick to Ed was because Ed represented the embodiment of everything he disliked: the Military who had destroyed his people and the State Alchemists who used blasphemous sciences to destroy what God had created. He had nothing against Amestris in general, or even against Ed. He was just doing his job. Azeez however, emitted an aura of hatred for anyone of Amestris blood. Ed couldn't really blame him, given that his race had been all but wiped out in the war, but he still felt the helpless victim in this whole charade. He felt bile rise in his throat, but he swallowed it back down, not wanting to show weakness.

"I never said that," said Azeez. "Now, your Colonel is expecting a call from us, and I want you to speak to him. If you disobey, your end will come much quicker than you expected. You'll tell him that if he doesn't meet our demands, you'll be dead by sunset tomorrow. Got that?"

Ed just nodded, acting submissive and not very Ed-like, Magnum still holding onto him by his shoulders.

01234567890123456789

Roy sat in his office with Havoc, Breda, Hawkeye, Alphonse and Fury. Fury had a radio device set up tapping the phone lines to determine the location of any incoming calls. He was explaining kindly to Al how the device worked.

"It tracks the location of the caller," he said, pointing at the various dials and explaining what they do. "This tape records what was said for further reference, and this is a radio allowing us to pinpoint the operator." Al nodded, causing his armour body to clank as his helmet rubbed against the heavy neck joints.

Havoc sat smoking and playing cards with Breda. They were all waiting for the terrorists to make their next move.

Falman burst into the office and broke the quiet lull.

"Sir, Sheska and I have concluded that there are two possible places this note could have originated from," he exclaimed, panting slightly for breath and waving the notes around. "The newspapers used were the East City Times and the Merc Citizen. Thus, they came from either the town of Merc or else East City. Both places are within 10 km of each other."

"Thank you Falman, that has narrowed our search down considerably and will most likely come in useful, especially if they decide not to do what I'm expecting them to do which is call us," said Roy.

_And if they do call, the papers will confirm the location…_

Suddenly, as if on cue, the phone began to ring.

Fury switched on the radio device and held the headphones over his ears, giving a thumbs-up to Roy to indicate all systems were set. Roy nodded and picked up the phone handset.

"Hello, Colonel Mustang speaking."

"Colonel Mustang," replied a sinister sounding voice on the other end. "I presume you remember the demands on those letters we sent you."

"Yes. I also sent my subordinates to meet with your representative and we explained it would be impossible to meet those demands."

"You lie, Colonel, and you're just wasting time. The demands will be met or you will not get your…" the voice paused briefly for effect. "Item returned to you."

"I don't have the jurisdiction to fulfil most of those demands."

The voice laughed. "I wonder if this will persuade you to change your mind?"

There was a moment of silence, a slight shuffling sound from the other end of the line as the phone was moved. Roy looked at his subordinates, who were all gazing at him with similar curious expressions apart from Fury, who was fiddling with various dials and wore a determined expression.

"Colonel?" A small, familiar voice broke the silence.

"Edward?"

"Colonel, you gotta listen to me! If you don't meet their demands by sunset tomorrow, they are going to kill me." His voice was wavering up and down the scale, sounding fearful.

"Edward, where are you?"

"I… I'm at… ACH! Ok, I wasn't going to… not like I know where we are anyway… OW… Colonel… don't do it… don't negotiate…" There were some shuffling noises and a muffled squeal followed by a dull thump and a clatter.

"Ed? Edward!"

"Damn brat. He was going to give away our location. Not to worry, we sedated him."

"If you harm him in any way…"

"Oh we won't cause him permanent damage Colonel, unless you fail to cooperate with us. Meet our demands by sundown tomorrow, or the kid gets it." The phone went silent and the dial tone followed. Roy replaced the phone in its cradle. Fury tapped some of the switches on his radio device, frowned then smiled.

"Haha! I got their location!" he exclaimed jubilantly. "It's an old warehouse on the outskirts of the East City industrial estate."

"Good job, Fury," said Roy. "Everyone, were going to East City headquarters. Gather some belongings and alert Major Armstrong and his troops. We're getting the next train."

"Yes sir," they said, standing and saluting.

01234567890123456789

Azeez smiled as he hung up on the phone. He knew the Colonel would never be able to complete his demands in time. He looked at the unconscious youth at his feet with something close to pity. Magnum had knocked him out with a quick bash to the head when he began playing up, although he was already regaining consciousness. He groaned and moved slightly.

"Tomorrow, you shall never move again," remarked Azeez coldly. "Bring him. We're moving out."

"Sir why?" asked Magnum.

"The military are not stupid. They will have tapped the line and by now will know our position and are probably zeroing in on this warehouse. They can be here within 3 hours, so we're moving to our base in Merc. That way we won't be found." Azeez explained.

"Ah. OK," replied Magnum, picking Ed up off the floor and slinging him over one shoulder. Ed groaned again and opened his eyes.

"Wha? Hey! Put me down!" he said, trying to wiggle free.

"Hehe – no can do kid!" replied Magnum, tightening his grip and carrying him out of the warehouse to the van. He threw the boy unceremoniously into the back and slammed the door, ignoring the yells of protest which were instantly deadened by the soundproofing as the door closed.

"Let's go," said Azeez, climbing into the front of the van. "We'll meet the others there." Magnum hoisted himself into the driver's seat and started the engine. The van drove off into the maze of roadways and was lost amongst the buildings.

A/N: Creative licence and the fact there was a refrigerated delivery van in episode 8 of the anime has led me to include delivery vans as standard. The Terrorist van is an unmarked white vehicle, similar in appearance to a Ford Transit, only with the customary Amestris silver exhaust piping and whooshing futuristic sound effects.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: This story has an awful lot of chapters…

**Chapter 18**

They filled a whole civilian car on the train, Armstrong having brought along about 30 troops of varying abilities and trades, including gunmen, explosives experts and medics. There was also Roy's subordinate circle and Alphonse, who took up a whole two seats by himself. Alphonse seemed happy to be being treated as human by the military, instead of as luggage like he had previously. Granted, he had been in numerous pieces and unable to move at the time, but he still didn't appreciate being left in the livestock car. This time, it was Black Hayate travelling in the livestock area, Riza having brought him along with her. They hadn't brought any vehicles along, knowing they could borrow the supplies at East City. The train journey was a mere 4 hours, but that was 4 hours too long for Roy Mustang. The whole time he sat on the train he fidgeted, crossing and uncrossing his legs, twiddling his thumbs, sighing and staring out the window, uncrossing his legs again and looking down at the floor as if interested in a suspicious stain there.

"Sir, will you please stop fidgeting," said Hawkeye, trying to sound polite but voice containing a dangerous edge to it indicating she was annoyed. He looked up to find all his subordinates staring at him curiously. They had never seen him so uptight before about anything.

"Sorry Lieutenant," he apologised. "I'm just worried, that's all. I want to be there now. I feel useless just sitting around."

"Well chief, there's nothing anyone can do until we get to East City," said Havoc leaning over the back of Roy's seat, for once absent of a cigarette due to the no smoking policy on the Amestris railway. Roy noticed his hands were shaking from the need to get a nicotine fix. The first thing Havoc would do on leaving the train would be to light up a smoke.

"You're right, Havoc. No use in me worrying until we get there," said Roy, settling back in his seat. He stopped fidgeting for the most part, but occasionally he found himself jiggling his leg up and down with nerves.

"Nii-san will be fine Colonel," said Al confidently. "After all, he's my Nii-san."

01234567890123456789

Ed was in the back of the van for about half an hour, trying to keep his balance and failing as the van wove around winding streets. He was thrown to the floor and slammed into the sides of the van on more than one occasion as they took corners at a speed slightly faster than they should have. He kept swearing and yelling every time he fell over again, until Azeez yelled at him from the front of the van.

"Shut the hell up, whelp!" he said, anger evident in his voice. Ed fell silent then, deciding to lie on the floor and brace himself with his legs instead. He still slid around the floor somewhat, being too small to wedge himself properly within the van. He briefly wondered why he hadn't received this battering the last time he had been in the van, and concluded that last time the terrorists were not in such a hurry and had driven at a more sensible speed.

He was relieved when the van stopped because it meant he didn't have to brace any more. The doors were opened and Magnum grabbed him and pulled him out of the van. As per usual, he tried resisting, kicking out and yelling abuse. Magnum ignored it, overpowering him with sheer brute strength. He had been brought to another warehouse, much smaller than the last one and in worse shape. He wasn't in East City any more either – he could tell from the surroundings. He knew East City industrial area fairly well and the layout of wherever he was now was alien and unfamiliar to him. Most of Azeez men were there however, standing about and acting as security. He noticed one of them had two black eyes and recognised him as the pirate he had knocked out on the boat. Obviously, the plank had broken his nose. The black-eyed man glared nastily at him, but did nothing, disappearing into the building with a couple of other terrorists. Azeez was talking to another couple of his men, giving instructions. Ed was dragged into the warehouse by Magnum, who took him to a large, empty room at the rear of the complex. Unlike last time, there were no restraints on the wall. He was merely pushed into the room and the door was closed and locked behind him.

A/N: Transit vans are evil.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: The only reason Black Hayate is there is to act as a military sniffer dog. Riza is a rather disciplinary person, so I imagine Hayate is trained as more than just an obedient pet. In fact, if you look at the fan-made video game, 'Bluebird's Illusion' (which I do not own, unfortunately) Black Hayate is being trained as a military dog and has grown to a substantial size.

**Chapter 19**

The Colonel stood in the abandoned warehouse that Fury had led them to, feeling a sense of loss. The warehouse had been recently evacuated. There was still paper on the desk, still an electric light burning in the main factory and very little if any dust in the offices. Breda had discovered one of the offices had been made into a makeshift prison, with restraints attached to the walls, and there was evidence of them being recently used. A screwed up blanket in the corner and one of the chains loose on the floor instead of coiled neatly against the wall, an object that looked suspiciously like a dog collar attached to the end of it.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye, bring Black Hayate in here, would you?" asked Roy. At the mention of the dog's name, Breda realised he had to go and tell Armstrong something and left the room at speed. Hawkeye lead the dog into the room a few seconds later, letting him have a sniff around the prison. The dog seemed very excitable about the blanket, snuffling and pawing at it, whimpering.

"What is it, Hayate?" said Hawkeye, bending down and examining the blanket. There she found some strong evidence for conviction. She plucked something from the blanket and held it up for Roy to see.

"Hair," she commented. "Long, blonde… and there's more than one." She picked another couple of hairs from the blanket. "Either whoever resides here has a strange fetish with blonde women, or Edward has been here recently."

"The question now is where they have taken him?" pondered Roy. He was roused from his musings by the appearance of Fury and Falman, who had been investigating one of the other offices.

"Colonel Mustang sir," said Fury, slightly out of breath. "We found something that could be of use."

"It's a letter sir. A letter addressed to a disused factory in Merc. And we know from my investigations with the notes that some of the papers used came from that town, and it's only about 30 minutes drive from here. There is a strong probability that this is the place they have moved their base camp to." Falman passed the envelope to Mustang, who glanced at the address.

"OK people, we're moving out. We have to be at…" he looked at the address again. "…66 Industrial Way by sundown. Everybody to the vans – now!" The Colonel barked his orders and the troops saluted and literally ran from the building to the borrowed vehicles. Roy followed at a brisk walk, Riza and his other subordinates following behind him with determined expressions.

01234567890123456789

On first expressions, the Merc warehouse seemed as deserted as the East City one. They had left their vehicles on the edge of the small industrial estate so as not to attract attention. Alphonse, Black Hayate and the medical soldiers remained with the small fleet, being inexperienced in conflict and liable to draw unwanted awareness from the enemy to their location. The remaining troops were sneaking up on the building from the back alleys. Roy stood with his subordinates behind him. In the other alleys he could see some of Armstrong's men, awaiting more orders, and the Major himself, flexing his muscular arms in preparation for battle. He wore his usual metal gauntlets over the tops of his hands, the transmutation circle clearly etched onto them in black. There appeared to be no-one about the warehouse that Roy could see… until…

"There's someone there," whispered Riza. She held her gun in her hands, cocked and ready to fire as she pointed out a lone figure moving around behind a window. Roy caught a glimpse of olive skin and red eyes peering out before it disappeared.

"Ok… they're in there. That's definitely an Ishbalan," he replied, flashbacks of the war running through his mind at speed. He willed them away, not wanting any distractions. This time, they were not innocent civilians, they were terrorists. However, he would rather they were captured alive rather than killed outright. "I'm going to sneak round the back. I want you to infiltrate from the front, draw their attention from me. Do not kill unless necessary. You five are to try and work your way through the building to the rear – our objective is to find the boy and get him out of there."

Roy leaned out from his hiding place, waving to get the attention of Major Armstrong. He waved his arm out in the signal to go and watched as the troops advanced stealthily on the building.

"I wish you luck. Now go," he said to his comrades, waving them out. He remained hidden, watching as the military stormed the building, before making his way to the rear of the complex unseen and unnoticed by the terrorists, who had come flooding out of the warehouse upon seeing the Amestris military advance.

A/N: And here comes the action… I kept you waiting long enough! 


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Action, blood and gore! If squeamish, be warned there is blood in this chapter and more blood to come!

**Chapter 20**

"Woah, shit!" yelled Havoc, ducking behind an old piece of factory equipment next to Hawkeye, who was reloading her gun. "There's far more of them than we first thought!" Fury dropped down beside him, a small scrape on the side of his face oozing blood.

"So far, there have been no casualties on our side, but one of the Ishbalans has been shot in the leg and taken captive," he reported.

"No casualties… Fury, have you seen your face?" commented Havoc. He winced as a bullet hit the wall next to him, ducking further behind the machinery.

"Oh, this?" Fury dabbed at the blood. He seemed embarrassed. "I… erm… I fell over. Saved my life actually – bullet went right over my head!"

"Ok…" said Havoc. He turned his gaze to Hawkeye, who had now finished reloading and was leaning over the machine firing shots. There came a yell and the incoming gunfire halted momentarily. Havoc stood up and peered over the machine next to Hawkeye to see four Ishbalans clutching gunshot wounds, and a further ten ducking for shelter. Hawkeye never missed a target. She left the relative safety of the machinery and ran round the back of the warehouse at a slight crouch, using the machinery as a shield.

"Come on!" she yelled at the others.

"Alright, that's more like it!" replied Havoc. He drew his own pistol and followed her, hearing the sound of more gunshots from both the enemy side and theirs. He fell to the floor and rolled under another item of disused factory machinery as a hail of bullets passed over where his head had just been. Hawkeye was now nowhere in sight, obviously having gone on ahead. Fury had also disappeared. "Dammit you guys!" he swore to himself.

Suddenly, a hulking brute of a man rose up in front of him. He had a religious symbol tattooed onto his arm, and it was with this arm that he grabbed Havoc by the front of his jacket.

"Holy…" swore Havoc, as he was pulled off his feet. He lost his gun in the process. The man looked him square in the eyes, holding his other hand above him as if to punch Havoc in the face. Havoc closed his eyes and prepared for impact…

A voice cried out, distracting the man holding Havoc. "Unhand that Lieutenant you Ishbalan ruffian!"

"Wha?" said the Ishbalan. He promptly dropped Havoc as a transmutation of the floor sent numerous concrete statues of the Major slamming into his chest, knocking the wind out of him. Havoc looked across to see Major Alex Louis Armstrong, shirtless and surrounded in pink sparkles, posing and rhapsodising.

"That was the Lieutenant releasing method passed down in the Armstrong family for generation!" he yelled in jubilation.

"Well shit…" commented Havoc lightly, standing up and brushing his uniform off. He looked down at the dazed man, groaning on the floor. He was pinned beneath one of the Armstrong statues. "Hey dude, you're now under arrest as a prisoner of war. Come quietly and you shall not be harmed."

"Awww…" groaned the Ishbalan. "This is so unfair – I cared for that damn kid as well and all he could say in response was 'bastard'. Just once I'd have liked him to call me Magnum…"

"That sounds like our Edward alright," said Havoc. He left the Major to take care of the prisoner while he went back into the battle field. He saw Hawkeye again, firing repeatedly at a couple of men who had taken shelter behind a metal screen, bullets pinging and ricocheting off the smooth surface leaving little dints. Breda was about also, grappling in hand to hand combat with a smaller man and winning.

Havoc smiled as he saw the Major return to battle, using his artistic alchemy to great skill and taking out half a dozen terrorists in one hit.

Suddenly, Ishbalan and Amestris military alike stopped fighting momentarily at the sound of an explosion from the rear of the complex. Riza took the opportunity to shoot both ishbalans, one in the arm, the other in the leg, and ran off into the rear of the building. Havoc gave her cover as she left, firing what was left of his rounds at another terrorist who tried to stop her.

"God's speed, Lieutenant!" he yelled jokingly, as she raced away. The terrorist he had shot fell writhing in pain to the floor, blood spurting from a wound in his thigh.

01234567890123456789

Azeez had retreated to the back room upon the military storming the building. He had locked the door behind him, effectively trapping himself in the same room as Ed, who sat on the floor in the far corner.

"How the hell did they find us so fast? I must have been careless, left something behind. Shit!" He paused, running a hand through his dark hair. "Jeez, I never expected this many people to come for the sake of one snotty little brat…" he complained.

"Hey!" growled Ed, angrily. "It's not like I asked them to come."

"Why anyone would care for you is beyond me… you're ungrateful and you swear too much. I'm surprised even you mother loved you."

"Don't you dare talk about my mother you bastard," spat Ed, his voice dangerously low. "You don't know anything… you don't know what it's like…"

"What, to lose your family? I lost my entire race, boy! I know exactly what it's like. I was about the same age as you are now. I watched as my older sisters' brains were splattered over the floor in front of me, my baby nephew trodden on until his neck snapped. I saw my father stabbed seventeen times in the back, my mother bleeding to death next to him. I saw my neighbours burning alive in their houses as I cowered under the stairs where my father had hidden me and it was all because of you… you filthy blasphemes… you took everything from me… and now I'm going to take everything from you…" Azeez began approaching Ed, a dark gleam in his blood red eyes. Ed stiffened, preparing to fight as best as he could with his hands bound by the stocks.

Then the wall behind him exploded inwards, sending bricks and mortar flying, burying the man under a deluge of dust and debris. Part of the ceiling fell down, a heavy wooden beam slamming to the floor. Ed yelled and raised his arms above his head, protecting himself from the rain of dust and pebbles. One struck him on the face next to his right eye and he felt a trickle of warm blood escape and run down his cheek. The he heard someone yell his name in a familiar and oddly comforting voice.

"Ed!"

He looked up, coughing and squinting through the dust.

"Colonel?"

A/N: Roy to the rescue… dadadada… Writing the Majors' lines made me laugh. And I can't believe this story is over 20 chapter long!


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Real character death. And gory description of said death drools gore…

**Chapter 21**

Roy had worked his way unnoticed to the rear of the complex and stood facing a brick wall. There were numerous cracks in the mortar caused by age and a lack of maintenance. He turned his face away to protect his eyes and aimed his fingers at the wall, clicking them together and sending flames arcing towards the weakened structure causing a small localised explosion. The wall collapsed, bringing part of the ceiling down with it.

Roy heard a familiar yelp. He span round to find Ed crouched about 15 metres away inside the building with his hands as far over his head as the stocks would allow, protecting himself as dust rained down on his head. A small cut above his right eye was oozing blood down the side of his face and his appearance was generally scruffy, but he was otherwise fine. A heavy oak beam and a pile of rubble that was once the wall separated him from the teenager, and would take a few minutes to climb over. He knew Hawkeye and some of his subordinates were in the building, but he had to get him out as soon as possible.

"Ed!" he yelled out.

"Colonel?" coughed Ed, looking up. "Colonel!"

"Shield your eyes and hold out your arms!" yelled Roy, leaning as far over the rubble as he could. Ed screwed his eyes shut and stuck his arms out stiffly in front of him. Roy clicked his fingers again, aiming for the stocks, which erupted momentarily in flames before disintegrating. Ed hissed at the light burning on his left wrist, but he got over it fast, rubbing it with his automail and scrambling up to his feet.

"Roy!" he yelled, using the colonel's first name again. He began to climb over the remains of the wall, but suddenly a man appeared from under the rubble, fighting his way out of the pile of bricks. The man looked a total wreck, covered in brick dust with blood pouring from a head wound and a gash on his lower lip, eyes gleaming in hatred and determination. He grabbed Ed roughly by the hair, holding him back.

"Don't think you're getting away that easily, brat," growled Azeez angrily in Ed's ear. He drew a switchblade from his pocket, flicked it open and held it to Ed's throat. Ed struggled, swearing and cursing, until Azeez tugged his hair roughly, entwining his fingers tightly into the loose golden strands, causing him to wince and halt movement. "I shall have my revenge one way or another."

"Edward!" yelled Roy. They had been so close and now Ed was about to be slaughtered in front of him and there was nothing he could do. He couldn't risk flames or guns without hitting Ed, and there was no-one else he could see within range to help. Even if help was available they was they too would risk hurting Ed. The blood-red rays of the setting sun illuminating the dust-ridden air seemed somewhat appropriate for the current scene.

"Sunset, Mustang," growled Azeez, glaring at Roy with those crimson eyes. "You failed to meet our demands. You know what that means." He tugged on Ed's hair again, causing the boy to whimper in pain.

"No! You can't!" pleaded Roy. "Not Edward – please!"

"Should have thought of that before murdering innocent Ishbalan citizens," spat Azeez. "I shall have vengeance for the blood of the children of Ishbal."

"I'm innocent too you know," muttered Ed, fear and adrenaline coursing through his veins. "I had nothing to do with the Ishbalan war. Kill me and you're no better than them."

"So be it," growled Azeez. "This is for Ishbala!"

Panic attacked Ed and his eyes widened as he realised something.

_I'm about to die._

He stopped thinking rationally for once as time seemed to slow down. He saw the switchblade move away from his neck as Azeez drew it away briefly to get a cleaner cut, but it was still too close to his throat for comfort. Then it was moving sluggishly towards him, getting closer and closer to his jugular. His hands were loose, no longer shackled and Azeez had not noticed. He clapped them together and span round with a panicked yell…

Azeez screamed aloud in agony and surprise, releasing his hair as the sharp blade extending from Ed's automail arm slashed through his stomach. Blood spurted freely from the wound, mixing with liquids of various colours oozing from ruptured organs. Death was almost instantaneous.

Ed stood shaking, his body and mind both in shock, eyes wide and staring. Some blood had sprayed onto his face and clothing and he looked down at his hands as if in disbelief of what he had just done. His left hand was trembling violently while warm blood ran down the blade of the right one, staining the pure metal a dirty red. He collapsed to his knees in front of the corpse. This was no homunculus – this was a person, a human being with a soul and a single life. And he had killed him.

He cried out and grabbed his hair with both of his hands, screaming and crying in mental anguish.

"What have I done?" he yelled repeatedly in a high pitched voice. "What have I done!?"

Roy couldn't easily get over the rubble to him, but he noticed Hawkeye kick her way through the minor debris from inside the building. She had also viewed most of what had happened but had only just arrived on the scene, having fought her way through the terrorist organisation. She was in a better position to reach Edward than Roy was due to the lack of rubble on her side.

"Ed?" she said softly as she scrambled over to where he was crouched. He released his hair and turned his head round to look up at her, eyes filled with tears. She looked down at the sniffling child with a mixture of pity and sympathy.

"I killed him…" he sobbed. She noticed he had a small line of blood, his own blood, beading around his neck like a macabre necklace from where the knife blade had nicked him during his frantic spin. It had been a close call for the blonde teen.

"I know. I saw. You had no other choice," she said soothingly.

"It's still wrong… he was human… I didn't mean to kill him…" Ed continued shaking, sobbing uncontrollably. Riza removed her jacket and draped it over the boy's shoulders before crouching down next to him and placing a sympathetic arm across his back.

"It's OK Ed. You're safe now. Nobody's blaming you… he would have been executed for his crime anyway…" she knew her words were hollow.

Ed wailed loudly, releasing his shock and regret as sound. The noise would have melted even the toughest heart. Roy watched from a distance as the lieutenant comforted the boy, lightly rubbing his back with her feminine hands.

The first death was always the worst.

But at least he was alive.

01234567890123456789

"Nii-san! I'm so happy to see you Nii-san!" The armour yelled happily as Riza led Ed back to their base, a blanket wrapped around him. "Nii-san… there's blood on you…"

"Don't worry – most of it's not mine," replied Ed, trying to put on a brave face for his brother. While his defensive walls had immediately risen on contact with his younger sibling, the sound of his voice and his general appearance, the pink-rims of his eyes, the tear streaks on his face and the emotion hidden within his eyes told the whole story.

"Nii-san…" murmered Al. He stayed religiously next to Ed throughout the whole time the medics were there tending to his minor wounds. There had been very few injuries on the military side, a couple of gunshot wounds to extremities and a few bloody scrapes, but the majority of damage had been to the terrorist organisation. Three Ishbalans, not including Azeez, had been killed in the conflict, the rest taken prisoner, escorted to the East City prisoner of war camps after their injuries had been accounted for and cleaned up.

Alphonse remained Ed's shadow for the remainder of the day, sitting next to him in the van and following him closely as if scared of losing him again. He noticed Ed was unusually quiet the whole time, seeming smaller and less energetic than usual. This worried him slightly, but he figured that if he had been through what his older brother had he would be quiet too. The vans took them back to East city, where they would stay the night in the spare military dorms and the injured soldiers would receive better care for their injuries than the field medics could provide.

A/N: Here comes the flood, rivers of blood baby! Here comes the war, more blood and gore, than you can stand… (Lyrics from 'Here Comes The Flood' by 'The Divine Comedy') This just about sums up this chapter in my opinion.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Angst and love. This is the final chapter in this work of fiction (Many people cheer) and I tried to make it a happy ending. Heaven knows this story needs something uplifting about it!

**Chapter 22**

Ed was perched on the edge of a sofa in the Break Room of East City headquarters when Roy found him the next day, staring blankly at the floor. His relatively minor injuries had been patched up, and he sported a fabric bandage on his left wrist covering the light burn from when the shackles had been released. The cut above his eye was being held together by a couple of small white ties. A long shower had removed much of the dust and grime accumulated during the battle, and his hair had been neatly brushed although he still wore it loose. Fury had lent him a black T-shirt, some clean underwear and a pair of grey slacks as he had none of his own clothes with him, but even the clothing of one of Roy's smaller subordinates hung large and baggy on the teenager, drowning him in fabric. While all physical injury had been accounted for, nothing could heal the psychological trauma. The expression he wore was empty, devoid of all emotion, his eyes a dull gold in place of their usual determined gleam. It was as if he chose not to feel rather than face the pain.

"Ed…" said Roy. He got no response. "Edward, I know you must be going through a rough time at the moment…" The boy flinched slightly. "But I understand better than most what you're going through. We've all been through it here, killed someone in war…"

"Killing people is wrong. Nobody deserves to die," said Ed simply. He looked up at his superior officer, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "I… I am wrong…"

"That is a child's outlook," replied Roy. "Sometimes death is a necessity."

There was a pause, Ed obviously fighting conflicting emotions.

"I… I am a c…c…child, Roy," he stammered, admitting it for once and lowering his gaze to the floor again. "Are you forgetting that?" Roy shook his head. "All I see when I close my eyes is him… is Azeez… lying dead… and I see Mom… and Al with his human body… and Nina… Hughes… all of them… and they're accusing me… It's my fault… everything… all my fault…"

Roy sat down next to him on the sofa and was shocked to find the boy was trembling uncontrollably, on the verge of a breakdown. Everything he had been through, everything he had encountered in his short life had finally caught up with him.

"Ed…"

"I don't want to cause people suffering, Colonel… I don't want to live like this any more… I can't… I…"

Forgetting the officer-subordinate relationship laws, Roy laid an arm comfortingly over the boy's shoulders. At this small gesture, what was left of Ed's pride disintegrated and he broke down entirely, collapsing into his superior and bawling his eyes out. He sobbed into Roy's chest while Roy hugged him.

"I… I'm being stupid… I don't… I shouldn't cry… I don't deserve to cry…" he gasped between sobs.

"Don't be silly. It's alright to cry sometimes," whispered Roy. He gently stroked the boy's long silky hair – an action he remembered his mother and older sisters doing to him when he was upset as a child. At first, Ed stiffened at the contact – someone was touching his hair but… it felt nice, soothing almost. He relaxed, enjoying human contact, hands grasping the Colonel's jacket tightly as he curled into Roy's chest, seeking solace from the older man. Eventually, after several minutes, Ed stopped shaking and straightened up, wiping his eyes on the back of his left hand.

"Sorry Colonel," he apologised.

"Don't apologise," said Roy. "There's nothing to apologise for." He held the boy by the shoulders, holding him in front of him so he could look directly into his eyes. "Ed, I want you to know that not everything is your fault. I have done things far worse in my lifetime than you will ever do. No-one has judged you for your actions and no-one will. If anything people will praise and reward you, respect your bravery, your intellect and your courage. You are not a bad person Edward. Look at all the hard work you have done. Look at the good you do for the people, your devotion to your brother and to the state. These are not the traits of a senseless murderer."

"Colonel…"

"You're a good man Edward. Remember that." He gave Ed a slight shake to emphasise this point.

There was a lengthy pause as they looked each other straight in the eye, steel blue meeting deep gold.

"Thank you Colonel," whispered Ed politely, truly grateful for the words of his superior. Roy released his shoulders. "I… I appreciate it. Really I do," said Ed with a small smile. "That's the second time you've saved me from the darkness in the last month."

"I'm glad to hear that," Roy said, standing up to leave, but pausing momentarily as he remembered something. "Oh yeah, while I remember," Roy stuck his right hand into his trouser pocket and dug around, searching for something. "I believe this is yours." He pulled a silver pocket watch out and tossed it lightly over to Ed, who caught it in his left hand.

"Thanks Colonel," he said, voice still sounding shaky and croaky. "I never thought I'd see this again."

"No problem. Now, I have got permission to give you the rest of the week off to recompose yourself and relax a bit. You've been through a lot of stress recently and you need to rest and spend time with your brother. However, I expect to see you in my office in Central on Monday morning. Now, I have to get back to Central and do some work, so I'll bid you good day." Roy turned and walked to the exit.

"Colonel wait," said Ed. Roy turned to look at him curiously. "I never did tell you why I wear my hair braided, did I?"

"No… no you never did," remarked Roy, with a curious expression.

"It's because I don't want to be like my father… that bastard who left us… he always had his hair in a ponytail. I hate him, he was never a real parent to me or Al and I blame him for my mother's death. He wasn't there when she passed away. He didn't care, he wasn't at her funeral and he wasn't there for us when we needed him and I hate him for that." Ed paused, searching for courage. He swallowed nervously and looked directly at the Colonel. "Roy," he said, "You're more of a father to me than that bastard ever was."

Roy stiffened at this statement. He was shocked to hear Ed so openly tell him his feelings. He could feel a lump forming in his throat, overcome by emotion. "Thank you, Edward," he said. "If it's any consolation, you're like the son I never had." He turned and left the room, but in the corner of his eye he could see Ed smiling at him.

Tomorrow, it would be business as usual, but for today the relationship between Roy and Ed was closer than ever and both knew that the love they shared for each other, as family, would be there always.

'_I see home as being a metaphorical place where your family is, and where the people who care about you and who you care about are. It is not necessarily a house.' _

Ed sat in the break room holding his watch tightly and knew that, finally, he could call the military home.

A/N: Well, that's the end (which was re-typed a record 3 times before I was happy with it!) Congratulations on finishing! It was a whopping 27,394 words long, not including these useless little author waffles I'm so fond of adding. I hope you have enjoyed reading this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please give kind reviews! 


End file.
